Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"Money to me is freedom, and freedom is essential. Money allows me to say that I will now devote my life to being me, rather than putting on my shoes and tie, and going to an office every day."
- Robert Silverberg
 |
| Rabbit-Paper | ||
| A paper pregnancy test that showed immediate results. |
| Automatically, she reached into the glove compartment of the car and groped for a neatly-wrapped strip of rabbit-paper, as it was called. She found a strip - it was the old kind, not the new - and unwrapped it, put it between her teeth and bit.
In the glare of the dome light of the car she examined the strip of rabbit-paper. One dead rabbit, she thought recalling the old days (they were before her time) when a rabbit had to die for this fact in question to be determined. The strip, in the dome light, was white, not green. She dropped it into the disposal chute of the car and it incinerated instantly. |
| From The Game Players of Titan,
by Philip K. Dick. Published by Ace Books in 1963 Additional resources -
|
The idea of a pregnancy test is old; human beings have been wishing for something like this since the ancient Egyptians watered bags of wheat with the urine of a possibly pregnant woman (germination indicated pregnancy).
However, it wasn't until the 1970's that the discovery of monoclonal antibodies lead to cheap, disposable immunoassay strips used in home pregnancy tests.
In the story, the remarkable capabilities of the "new West German kind" are also touted:
"Not with the new West German kind," Pete said. "I read about it. It records an impregnation only an hour old."
As far as I know, the earliest results are within about ten days after conception.
Pretty good prediction by PKD; I don't recall hearing about this from an earlier source.
"...It wouldn't show up from us yet. It's too early."
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Game Players of Titan
More Ideas
and Technology by Philip K. Dick
Tech news articles related to The Game Players of Titan
Tech news articles related to works by Philip K. Dick
| Purdue Pharma Ready To Profit From OxyContin Use Or Addiction Recovery |
| Organaut! Russians 3D Print Living Tissue In Space |
| MIT Scientists Create 'Peek-a-Boo Prober' From Jetsons |
| Wound Healing With Wearable Nanogenerators |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
'The world ... is drenched in unfamiliar information all the way to the horizon.'
'He saw one hiss by him as he rounded the corner, trailing a short whip antenna...'
'It may be organic damage. It may be permanent. Time'll tell, and only after you are off Substance D for a long while.'
It's the polite thing to do, and has been the polite thing to do for about four generations.
