# Danny Dunn and the Random Futuristic Widget **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 17, 2005, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694 "2005-04-17T00:23:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/41 "2005-04-18T02:04:33Z")
Looks interesting, **Bosda**. You can start a thread about those books. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/42 "2005-04-18T02:14:36Z")
One thing that’s always puzzled me – it seems like if you ever find a random Danny Dunn book at a library or used book store, it’s almost always _Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint_. Am I for crazy, or has anyone else observed this? It’s like how the one Daniel Pinkwater in a given place will invariably _The Last Guru_. Did they just print a lot of these? ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/43 "2005-04-18T02:15:20Z")
Oh, man, I _loved_ Danny Dunn books as a kid. (And Three Investigators and Encyclopedia Brown, too.) I also got my best friend hooked on the Danny Dunn books, and every time one of us would sleep over at the other person’s house, we would tell Danny Dunn stories before falling asleep. Boys being boys, they would often devolve into Danny-does-Irene sex romps (which is odd, looking back, because it turns out my friend is gay), but there were some quality tales that I think would work as real Danny Dunn books. “Danny Dunn and Superfuel” was a commonly explored theme. Oh, and they would always start the same way: “Danny was out in his backyard, working on his latest invention … (pause several seconds to try and think of something) … the \.” We even ended up writing a few stories down, although I changed the name of the main character to “Ricky Runn” to avoid copyright problems. Ah, the good ol’ days… ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/44 "2005-04-18T02:17:03Z")
> [@Johnny Angel](#): > > One thing that’s always puzzled me – it seems like if you ever find a random Danny Dunn book at a library or used book store, it’s almost always _Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint_. Am I for crazy, or has anyone else observed this? It’s like how the one Daniel Pinkwater in a given place will invariably _The Last Guru_. Did they just print a lot of these? Well, that was the first one; maybe they printed up a lot of that one. I have noticed that, too. And very few people have _Danny Dunn and the Voice from Space_ or _Danny Dunn on the Ocean Floor_. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/45 "2005-04-18T02:34:48Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > I also got my best friend hooked on the Danny Dunn books, and every time one of us would sleep over at the other person’s house, we would tell Danny Dunn stories before falling asleep. Boys being boys, they would often devolve into Danny-does-Irene sex romps And [look what came of that.](http://www.uforia-research.com/danny.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/46 "2005-04-18T02:36:09Z")
Oh, and I should add that I wondered more than once how it would have played out if Irene had been on that island with the guys. Except I would have kept it strictly to a threesome, not an orgy. Bullfinch? Grimes? EWWWWWWWWW! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/47 "2005-04-18T03:42:06Z")
**chorpler** wrote: > [@](#): > > Well, that was the first one; maybe they printed up a lot of that one. I have noticed that, too. And very few people have Danny Dunn and the Voice from Space or Danny Dunn on the Ocean Floor. Until this thread came up, I thought I was surely the only person in the world who owned a copy of the _Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine_ LP. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/48 "2005-04-20T00:14:27Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > Boys being boys, they would often devolve into Danny-does-Irene sex romps . . . _Danny Dunn and the Atomic-Powered Five-Speed Vibrating Buttplug!_🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/49 "2005-04-20T00:23:23Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Maybe we need a new Danny Dunn for the new millennium – a set of kids’ adventure books hinging on the possible applications of nanotechnology, the space elevator, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and direct neural-electronic interfaces. For fiction of that kind, see _Indistinguishable from Magic_ by Robert L. Forward ([http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671876864/qid=1113956604/sr=1-1/ref=sr\_1\_1/104-2793536-9622364?v=glance&s=books](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671876864/qid=1113956604/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-2793536-9622364?v=glance&s=books)) – essays about amazing future technological marvels, paired with short stories about each. (Nothing about nanotech, though, nor AI, gene-engineering, neural-electronic interfaces, or virtual reality.) But the stories aren’t really that good, and if course they’re not kids’ adventures. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/50 "2005-04-20T00:58:38Z")
_Re: “Indistinguishable From Magic”_ > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > But the stories aren’t really that good That’s like saying **Battlefield: Earth** was “slightly flawed”… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/51 "2005-04-20T03:07:40Z")
> [@Johnny Angel](#): > > **chorpler** wrote: > Until this thread came up, I thought I was surely the only person in the world who owned a copy of the _Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine_ LP. Me too! I love the SDMB. 🙂 I can totally sing the melody of the Homework Machine song, but the only lyrics I remember are the chorus: “The Homework Machine, The Homework Machine, Minnie, you’re a real cool gal… You work, while we rest in the shade We wish we’d met you in second gra-aade!” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/52 "2005-04-20T09:59:58Z")
Of course, the main problem with the homework machine is that it automatically inserted “Copyright The Homework Machine” in the margins. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/53 "2005-04-20T13:33:56Z")
> [@Johnny Angel](#): > > Until this thread came up, I thought I was surely the only person in the world who owned a copy of the _Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine_ LP. I don’t _believe_ it. I’ve just finished a Google search about this, and … why would they create such a thing? HOW could God allow such a thing to be created and then not let me know about it until now? ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/54 "2005-04-20T13:53:12Z")
> [@Johnny Angel](#): > > It was definitely called _[Danny Dunn and the Swamp Monster](http://www.readingwell.com/danny%20dunn.html)_. Just to be sure I wasn’t smoking the crack, I googled it. I didn’t find a page that verified that it was the one with the superconductor, but I did find [this page](http://www.exemplars.com/resources/alignments/bib_phys_sci.html) which lists it under the category “Transferal and Transformation of Engergy” and [this picture of the cover](http://whatihaveread.net/i/0567.jpg) which shows the force field they made from, as my memory of it goes, a large coil of superconducting wire. Isn’t that the one with the giant electric eel? I didn’t check the links, I just wanted to make sure my geek senses were still working. Thanks for the OP. I thought I was the only one who remembered Danny Dunn. I think I had all the books. For the record: Harry Potter has nothing on Danny. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/55 "2005-04-20T14:07:12Z")
> [@Maus Magill](#): > > Isn’t that the one with the giant electric eel? I didn’t check the links, I just wanted to make sure my geek senses were still working. That’s the one. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/56 "2005-04-20T14:16:19Z")
Danny Dunn figures in the “Wold Newton” mythos, as a decendent of William Dunn, the Ultra-Humanite. [http://www.pjfarmer.com/chronicles/supermen.htm](http://www.pjfarmer.com/chronicles/supermen.htm) More on the Wold Newton family [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wold\_Newton\_family](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wold_Newton_family) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/57 "2005-04-20T15:38:37Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > I don’t _believe_ it. I’ve just finished a Google search about this, and … why would they create such a thing? HOW could God allow such a thing to be created and then not let me know about it until now? Since that record will never, EVER, be reissued does it qualify under the proposed abandonware exception to the copyright laws? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2005, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/58 "2005-04-21T07:07:12Z")
On the question of the ethics of computer-assisted homework: Am I the only one who remembers that the computer was not the titular Homework Machine? That name is only actually given to an invention of Danny’s, involving two pens joined together by a series of levers and pulleys. One pen would (almost) mimic the movements of the other, enabling Danny to do his and Joe’s science and math homework (with different handwriting, owing to the slack in the machine), while Joe does English for both of them. I think it’s safe to say that Danny was not any sort of patron saint of academic integrity, and was not intended to be. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/59 "2005-04-21T16:02:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > On the question of the ethics of computer-assisted homework: Am I the only one who remembers that the computer was not the titular Homework Machine? That name is only actually given to an invention of Danny’s, involving two pens joined together by a series of levers and pulleys. One pen would (almost) mimic the movements of the other, enabling Danny to do his and Joe’s science and math homework (with different handwriting, owing to the slack in the machine), while Joe does English for both of them. Mmmmm, I’m not sure. I mean, yeah, that’s what Danny’s invention was, in the first few pages of the book, but I thought that they quickly abandoned it once Minnie became available and that she was the “Homework Machine” that the title spoke of. > [@](#): > > I think it’s safe to say that Danny was not any sort of patron saint of academic integrity, and was not intended to be. He wasn’t bad … just headstrong! \ And as we saw in _Invisible Boy_, he had a lot more integrity than Snitcher Phillips, the spelling bee cheater. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694/60 "2005-04-21T21:51:48Z")
Did anyone else read **The Magic Grandfather** , by the same author as the DD books? I remember liking it a lot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/danny-dunn-and-the-random-futuristic-widget/299694.md?page=4)