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
"What has allowed so many Psychopathic Personalities to rise so high in corporations and government, is that they are so decisive. Unlike normal people, they are never filled with doubts, for the simple reason that they cannot care what happens next."
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
 |
| Centrifugal Bumble-Puppy | ||
| Futuristic children's game. |
This reminds me of a playground device that I've seen for the last fifteen years or so (not when I was a kid). It is a three foot-wide funnel set at the top of a pole; the funnel lets out into four chutes that point in four directions. You throw the ball into the funnel (an easy 'basket'), and then you have to guess which direction it will come out; lots of fun for groups of kids.
| The Director and his students stood for a short time watching a game of Centrifugal Bumble-puppy. Twenty children were grouped in a circle round a chrome steel tower. A ball thrown up so as to land on the platform at the top of the tower rolled down into the interior, fell on a rapidly revolving disk, was hurled through one or other of the numerous apertures pierced in the cylindrical casing, and had to be caught. |
| From Brave New World,
by Aldous Huxley. Published by Unknown in 1932 Additional resources -
|
I'm not sure when the first use of centrifugal force was made in games. People have specifically studied centrifugal force since the mid-seventeenth century, when "whirling tables" were made to illustrate effects.
Thanks to Alex Mair for contributing this item.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 2 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Brave New World
More Ideas
and Technology by Aldous Huxley
Tech news articles related to Brave New World
Tech news articles related to works by Aldous Huxley
| Glad 2020 Is Over |
| 'Black Friday' Online Shopping - In 1899! |
| What Does A Tesla Full Self-Driving Car See? |
| Satoshi Tomizu Creates Pocket Universes And Worldcraft Bubbles In Glass |
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.
|
'As she neared the barrier the car surged and lifted...'
'... with large padded feet, who were apparently polishing their way the whole length of Rama's six artificial suns.'
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray on its upper surface...'
'the human seats took up two-thirds of the room in each'
