# What's the most "science-fictiony" thing that's a reality today?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-science-fictiony-thing-thats-a-reality-today/393760>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [February 26, 2007, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-science-fictiony-thing-thats-a-reality-today/393760 "2007-02-26T19:58:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 6

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**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-science-fictiony-thing-thats-a-reality-today/393760/101 "2007-03-02T12:58:55Z")

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[QUOTE=KGS]  
I was just going to ask…did any SF author ever predict MySpace?

Computerized animation I think would have come as a surprise to people from the 50’s – not so much that it exists, but that it’s virtually replaced traditional ink & paint animation, relegating the old Walt Disney style to independent short films and Saturday morning cartoons.  
[/QUOTE]

Saturday Morning Cartoons? What are those? You mean those Toon Disney reruns and anime infomercials they run when there’s no sports programming to air?

Back in MY day, sonny, they us’d t’ have PRIME-TIME specials jus’ to _preview_ the new _original programmin’ cartoons_ they wuz goin’ to run that season! An’ they had their bes’ sit-com stars host it! An’ we LOVED IT, dad-gummit! ☹

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**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-science-fictiony-thing-thats-a-reality-today/393760/102 "2007-03-02T14:23:36Z")

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It doesn’t get much more science fiction-y than [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind-machine_interface) .

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**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-science-fictiony-thing-thats-a-reality-today/393760/103 "2007-03-02T21:29:35Z")

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[Dolphin receives prosthetic tail](http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070302/sc_nm/japan_dolphin_dc_1)

That prosthetic leg that someone mentioned is pretty awesome, but I don’t think that an advanced artificial leg would be a huge surprise to someone from 50 years ago. But a tail? For a dolphin? That blows my mind a little right now.

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**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2007, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-science-fictiony-thing-thats-a-reality-today/393760/104 "2007-03-03T01:58:46Z")

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> [@Annie-Xmas](#):
>
> Sending documents and phoots instantly.

The first fax machine was sold in 1861. [Fax - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fax#History)

Alexander Graham Bell called for Watson in 1876. [Telephone - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone#Early_development)

There’s a Charlie Chan movie in which sending a picture by fax (attached to a rotating drum) is presented as a marvel of modern technology.

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