Reagan was appointing people to federal posts in 1976? :dubious:
Probably some kind of resublimated thiotimoline based appointment.
Hey, what would happen if the certification documents WEREN’T watermarked?
Niven also mentions harvesting magnetic monopoles from the belt (asteroid or Kuiper or both, I forget) as a drive component. Seems like a really, really dangerous idea to me.
I think you mean “compound,” not alloy.
No, “alloy” was apparently the word they used in the third movie with that cripple guy.
I don’t recall any handicapped person in Superman III. But then I’ve only seen it once and it did not hold my attention.
He’s referring, rather indelicately, to Mr. Reeve.
Crass comments will not be acknowledged by Management.
No but I got some mithral right here.
Mithral? In Science Fiction? How very odd. Cite?
The first episode of the Adventures of Superman radio serial (hear it here) established that Krypton and Earth orbited the same sun, but on opposite sides, and that everyone on Krypton was superhuman by Earth standards. This contradicted what was (or would later be) established in the comics, and was changed in later episodes.
Kryptonite was introduced in a later radio episode, several years before it appeared in the comics. It was said that it was so named because it was a meteorite from the planet Krypton, and not for any scientific meaning. An urban legend says that it was invented as a gimmick to give voice actor Bud Collyer some time off, so that Superman could be played by a moaning and groaning extra while Collyer was on vacation.
The comics have never been consistent as to whether kryptonite is an element or compound, or if it’s a rock, metal, or crystal. One issue (*The Brave and the Bold *#175) hypothesized that kryptonite radiation consists of particles that pass harmlessly through ordinary matter (neutrinos? tachyons?) but affect Kryptonians because their atomic structure is super-dense. Physics-wise, that’s not too bad for a superhero comic.
Fun fact: *Superman *creator Jerry Siegel named the planet Krypton as a homage to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars, one of his inspirations. In the John Carter stories, the capital of Barsoom (Mars) was the city of Helium. Siegel chose another inert gas for the name of Superman’s home as a wink to other ERB fans. (Source: *Superman *editor Julius Schwartz at a SF con panel discussion.)
Cool! This is my favorite new Superman fact! The connection never occurred to me, and I’m sure never would have, even though it seems so obvious in retrospect.
It’s been a while since I read A Princess of Mars, so I don’t remember if the name of Helium was ever explained. In my mind, I always made an association between the fact that Barsoomian Helium comprised two twin cities and the element helium has an atomic number of two, with two twin protons as its nucleus. Was it ever made clear whether the name Helium was intended by ERB to be a transliteration or a translation of the Barsoomian name?