Origin of Commonly Used Science Fiction Terms

Ever wonder where those terms used in Science Fiction Books or Movies come from?


Well, someone at io9 has come up with a list of 31 terms and has done research into each of those terms, including the earliest known usage of each term.

(The list also includes some nice Sci-Fi pulp magazine cover art for those that like pretty pictures.)

If interested in the origin of terms not included in the list, head over to the Science Fiction Citations website.


For example, the word "blaster" first appears in a story published by Weird Tales in 1925, written by "Nictzin Dyalhis".  The author actually uses the term "blastor", but it's the same idea.  (There is speculation that he changed the spelling of his name when writing science fiction, but there is a WW 1 draft card and census bureau data with the same spelling.)

The entry for "blaster" includes a brief snippet from the story which includes the term.  It also includes the term "disintegrator".


The list does include some well known authors, with H.G. Wells having more than one entry on the list.

Today's WTF Moment: Ethel Merman Disco Album

Hat Tip: Neatorama


Really?  Ethel Merman released a disco album?





The funny thing is,I can take Ethel doing disco better than those backup singers.  Ethel is just being Ethel with a disco beat.  Those backup singers are shrill.

Weirdest Cover Ever?

Somehow I ran across this video on YouTube:




It's Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings doing a cover of A Whiter Shade of Pale.

Is this the weirdest cover ever?

3 Dev Adam, Bizarre Superhero Movie

Hat Tip: Neatorama

Watching the clips in the video you have to ask how well the producers understood American comic books.

I only have three words: carnivorous guinea pigs.

85,000 Historic Films Loaded to YouTube

Hat Tip: Engadget

British Pathe has uploaded 85,000 historic newsreels to their YouTube Channel.  The films cover 80 years worth of documentaries starting from 1896.

Footage includes coverage from both World Wars, interviews of those that survived the Titanic disaster and other noteworthy events.

Some examples:





British Pathe also has a blog and a website if interested.

This promises to provide an invaluable resource for bloggers looking for historic footage to go with blog articles.

What the Heck? KFC Corsage?

And, yes. It's a real product.

Matchstick Marvels Museum

I came across this while doing a little Internet surfing.  Somehow I wound up on the Business Insider website just in time tome see their article on the museum's Minis Tirith exhibit.



The replica of the Lord of the Ring's city is made from 420,000 matchsticks.  (The creator is retired so he has the time to do this sort of thing.)

Pat Acton (the model builder) currently has a contract with Ripley's Believe It or Not which displays his models at various locations.

Other models can be seen at the Matchstick Marvels Tourist Center in Gladbrook, Iowa and is open April through November.