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"I can remember when the first pulsars were discovered. I was able to go and sit down and listen to graduate students talking about what their theories, to explain what pulsars really were."
- Vernor Vinge
 |
| Air Blast | ||
| An air dryer for personal use. |
I wonder if he invented this one; another failure to file patent. You can see how you might think of it; anyone familiar with machine shops or labs with compressed air know that compressed air is often used to dry materials.
| It was not Dave's idea of a refreshing chamber, but he managed to take a sketchy shower in spite of the slimy floor. Then he discovered that there was no air blast installed, and he was forced to dry himself unsatisfactorily with his handkerchief. He had no choice in clothes. He must put back on the ones he had taken off, or go naked. He recalled that he had seen no nudity anywhere in Coventry, even at sports- a difference in customs, no doubt. |
| Technovelgy from Coventry,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1940 Additional resources -
|
According to Denis Gagnon, president of Exel Dryer, "the basic hand dryer was invented in 1948 and has gone virtually unchanged ever since." It may have been patented by someone in 1948, but Robert Heinlein wrote about it in 1940.
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news articles:
- High Speed Hand Dryer
- Airblade From Dyson Airblast From Heinlein
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Science Fiction
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'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.'
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.'
'a walking balloon proceeded with long strides of its aluminum legs...'
'There was nowhere on the planet where science and technology could not provide one with a comfortable home...'
'Most men updated their PIP on New Year's Day...'
'...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'
