The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl (w/CM Kornbluth):
Science Fiction Inventions, Technology and Ideas

Exceptional novel; it's focus on marketing and advertising will make you scratch your head and realize that there was someone who thought about our world that is packed tight with advertising - in 1950! Select an invention:

Airplane Window Ads - ads on clouds
An airplane window that allows you to - see advertisements!

Automatic Pilot - a brief history
A device to control the movement of aircraft using computer components.

Chicken Little - vat-grown protein
Very early reference to meat grown in a vat for food.

Chlorella Plantation
A skyscraper designed for food production.

Coffiest - coffee plus
It's coffee that you can't live without.

Compulsive Subsonics - ads dodge your cortex
An advertising agency works with every part of the audience's brain.

Hilsch Vortex Tube - Maxwell's demon lives!
A T-shaped device that admits air under pressure and outputs hot air from side and cold from the other.

Hypnoteleset
A device that guarantees quick, surrogate sleep.

Plasticocoon
Holds a prisoner motionless.

Prism Window - better plane window
A device for getting a better view of the ground from inside an airplane.

Retinal Projection - put the ad right on the eyeball
A method for projecting advertisements directly on the retina.

Soot-Extractor Nostril Plugs (Antisoot Plugs) - breathe easier
A small device worn to filter industrial pollutants out of breathing air.

Tourist Rocket
A cheap, unpleasant way to do space travel.

Water Bulb
A zero-gee dispenser of liquids.

Water Bulb
A zero-g way to enjoy water.

 

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Science Fiction
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Tentacled Robot Captures Space Debris
re: Makoto Yukimura
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Prufrock-MB2 Ready In Nashville
re: Paul Ernst
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DIY Robotic Content Farming
re: Schachner and Zagat
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Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
re: Theodore Sturgeon
(5/27/2026)

The Amazing Lightfoot Electric Scooter With Solar Assist
re: Robert Heinlein
(5/25/2026)

Fully Electric, Fully Automated Vegetable‑growing Agribots
re: John W. Campbell
(5/23/2026)

Vero Robotic Dog With Vacuum Cleaner Feet
re: Ray Bradbury
(5/21/2026)

More SF in the News

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