Rather surprised you didn't include the communication satellite, invented "fictionally" by author Arthur C. Clarke. Without that, several of the inventions mentioned here would never have reached their full potential or even been possible.

Robert Heinlein also first described the Water Bed in Stranger in a Strange Land

DaVinci penned a sort of helicopter... and I do believe he lived one or two years before Verne.

Seriously, no Arthur C Clarke? I would have thought that satellites would have rated a mention before "robot arms"

The first submarine used in warfare was the Turtle, used in the Revolutionary War: http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/sub_turtle.htm It predates the Fulton, Verne, and Peral designs by nearly a century.

Why is the star trek photo the only one that doesn't match the caption? That is obviously not the ST:TNG nor is Kirk listening to music in that scene. He's playing back a video clip. Maybe I'm the only nerd who cares but this article is by the Smithsonian people about science right?

Everything starts with imagining the impossible to create something wonderful. The literature is not fought with science :)

Please check this link: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_de_la_Cierva Juan de la Cierva had already developed and tested his own helicopter in 1923, later on his patent was used by the US to produce the Pitcairn PCA-2. Kind Regards.

Excuse me for my comment, but I just want to point out a forgotten fact. Isaac Peral had already launched a much bigger and successful submarine ten years before, in 1888. Please check this link: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Peral Thank you for your attention and kind regards.

Why wasn't the satellite mentioned in this article. Satellites were first described by Arthur C. Clarke many years before we actually had them.

11th Invention inspired by Sci fi SCIENTOLOGY

Robert Fulton, working for Napoleon Buonaparte in 1800 developed a submarine that in sea trials in Brest stayed ubmerged at 2 meters for 2 hours. Subseqently the french didn't see the benefit and refused further interest in the project. He , Fulton did go on to build the first comercially viable staem ship to cross the Atlantic in 1807.

I think you meant "John W. Campbell" in segment 5.

DaVinci said: "I find it ridiculous this site gives Jules Verne the credit for things like the submarine and helicopter when Leonardo da Vinci envisioned them HUNDREDS of years earlier. If anything, Jules Verne was inspired by da Vinci's drawings." I find it ridiculous that you are mistakenly blaming this site, when all the site did was quote the person's admitted inspiration for the invention. This site had NOTHING to do with the selection of that person's inspiration. If you have a problem with each person's admitted influence/inspiration, I suggest you take the issue up with their heirs. Don't shoot the messenger.

Neal Stephenson Novel was probably based on technology that already exist. In 1976 there was already the MuD concept that allowed user to interact in a D&D fashion. The concepts of MMO's have been around as long as the internet as. Neal gets no credit.

Campbell's name was actually *John* W Campbell, and he was the original editor of Astounding Science fiction, later renamed Analog. It is still being published. His pen name as a writer was 'Don A. Stuart'.

American engineer Robert Fulton designed and built a working submarine for Napoleon Bonaparte in 1800

Snowcrash does deserve some credit for virtual worlds however credit really belongs to Simulacron 3 by Daniel Galouye (1964) which predicted multiple virtual worlds, helmet and glove interaction, avatars, artificial intelligence, simulation vertigo, and high resolution graphics accelerated rendering via parallel computers. This book predates Snowcrash (2003) by 36 years!

TASERS have been proven time and again to be far from non-lethal. TASER is also famous for suing ME's to get causes of deaths involving TASERS changed so as not to implicate the obviously coincidental death that occurred immediately after TASER use was connected to said use.

I find it ridiculous this site gives Jules Verne the credit for things like the submarine and helicopter when Leonardo da Vinci envisioned them HUNDREDS of years earlier. If anything, Jules Verne was inspired by da Vinci's drawings. Heck, I'd give the ancient Egyptians temple hieroglyphics (that resemble modern vehicles to modern eyes) more credence than Jules Verne since they came thousands of years earlier than him.

Well that's poorly researched. is this FOX news? Monturiol built a true submarine (Ictíneo II) in 1864, it was double hulled and steam powered, the combustion generated the ship's oxygen. This feat wasn't equaled until near WWII. It's design wasn't equaled until the Albacore.

Lt. Uhuru in Star Trek wore a bluetooth device.

Great tribute to John "Jack" H. Cover (pronounced Co' ver with a long o) who invented the original TASER electronic control device. Jack helped us on our first product called the AIR TASER Model 34000 back in 1993-1995. He was one of a kind and brilliant. He and his son were featured on "That's Incredible" and he inspired the founding members of TASER International to never give up in terms of innovation. His assistance in this technology used in 107 countries has helped save more the 94,000 lives saved from death or serious injury. Steve Tuttle, VP of Communications at TASER International.

Submarine article: Wrong. Ictíneo was first.

As for the submarine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ictineo_I (1859)

Cell Phones and lasers as well

I recently saw an article where Bell Labs was cited for developing what would become the first mobile phone. However, it was Motorola who tweeted and introduced it commercially.

you forgot RADAR, a big one.

Caption under photo says the Argonaut design was not successful. Article says it was successful.

Diane, It says that Sikorsky was inspired by the Jules Vern book. It did not say his was the first one.

Calling the electronic torture-weapon ("pain compliance") known as TASER a "non-lethal instrument", is incredibly disingenuous at BEST —insidious propaganda.

Several hundred people are known to have died from the reckless & criminal use of these devices of terror by so-called "law enforcement" thugs entitled "police officers", who often use them indiscriminately on unarmed, often non-resisting civilians, including old men in beds, women in wheelchairs and CHILDREN.

"Non-lethal instrument" is a morally & ethically unjustifiable phrase, unworthy of Smithsonian Magazine.

You need to take a closer look at Da Vinci's drawings regarding helicopters!

The helicopter! Inspired by "Star Trek" or War of the Worlds? Surely you jest? You need to go further back - much, much further back. Please do more digging, laddie.

Regarding Atomic Power; not many people are aware that the first non-weapons application of nuclear energy was created due to the efforts of USN Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, who lobbied and led for 7 years to produce the first nuclear-powered submarine, aptly named the Nautilis. He launched the US Navy's Nuclear Propulsion Program.

For the submarine invention, we should not forget the Hunley, successful military submarine used in the Civil War several years before Verne. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._L._Hunley_(submarine)

I think you got the sci-fi editor's name wrong. You're referring to John W. Campbell - long-time editor of Astounding Science Fiction (later Analog Science Fiction).

on #5 the science fiction editor would have been John W. Campbell.

Re: Quicktime--photo depicts ST Movie #3 The Search for Spock, yet the blurb references ST The Next Generation TV Series when Data is listening to various tracks of classical music in his quarters.. Hmmmmmm

It is shameful that you could not give Adm. John Wylie the credit deserved.