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"I am first of all not a science fiction writer … I write, I suppose, what the Latin Americans call magic realism."
- Harlan Ellison
 |
| Tumblebug | ||
| A monocycle; a motorcycle that balances on a single wheel. |
In this excerpt, the unthinkable has happened; the rolling roads have been sabotaged. Chief Engineer Gaines assembles his maintenance cadets and sets out to inspect and repair the damage.
| Gaines and Harvey mounted tumblebugs, and kept abreast of the Cadet Captain, some twenty-five yards behind the leading wave. It had been a long time since the Chief Engineer had ridden one of these silly-looking little vehicles, and he felt awkward. A tumblebug does not give a man dignity, since it is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized on a single wheel. But it is perfectly adapted to patrolling the maze of machinery 'down inside', since it can go through an opening the width of a man's shoulders, is easily controlled and will stand patiently upright, waiting, should its rider dismount. |
| From The Roads Must Roll,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1940 Additional resources -
|
Here's what they thought it would look like in 1940:
(Heinlein tumblebug from Astounding SF June 1940)
The oddest thing about a tumblebug is that it relies on "gyro-stabilization" the way we normally rely on two wheels. The Segway, a two-wheeled conveyance, similarly relies on gyro-stabilization.
Be sure to see how a modern company has created a monocycle concept vehicle similar to the tumblebug: read EMBRIO Embodies the Tumblebug. Closer yet, read about the Eunicycle Gyro-Stabilized Single Wheel Scooter.
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- EMBRIO Embodies The Tumblebug
- Eunicycle Single-Wheel Gyro-Stabilized Scooter
- Segway Robotic Mobility Platform Looks Like A Tumblebug
- Tango Motorcycle Monocycle Like Heinlein's Tumblebug
- Self-Balancing Unicycle - Heinlein's Tumblebug
- eniCycle Self-Balancing Tumblebug
- Honda U3-X Self-Balancing Unicycle Video
- Self-Balancing Unicycle Mythbuster Video
- SBU Self Balancing Unicycle Perfected In V2.0
- Solowheel Self-Balancing Unicycle
- Self-Balancing Electric Unicycle By MIT Student
- Honda's Tumblebug - The UNI-CUB beta
- RYNO To Heinlein - Your Tumblebug Is Ready!
- Pinwheel Battery-Powered Unicycle Is Segway In Your Price Range
- Ninebot One Self-Balancing Wheel
- Solowheel Xtreme Heinlein Tumblebug Video
- Hi-Yo Modobag! Away!
| easyJet Short-Haul Electric Jets |
| Hyperloop One Video Shows It Works! |
| Flexup Tire Design Good For Tumblebugs |
| Musk Tunnels Wisely Restrict Drivers |
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Then some unknown race had chanced upon the dreamers and decided to "help them out."
'Improving man by bringing him close to Nature, while they combine the sensations of coasting with the interest of seeing the country well...'
Um, how about that pension for the humans who serve as the models for robot behavior?
'...used as surrogates in intense dependency cases.'
'Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of midday.'
