In our investigation of the history of science fiction, we are approaching the Century of the Fruitbat. Do this quiz to see how much you know about the early 20th Century. The early 20th Century is here defined as 'anything that happened before the Editor was born'.

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Short answers. Heck, make 'em as long as you like.

1. What scifi writer from Chittenango, New York, managed to get technology, superweapons, and economic theory into his fantasy novels for children?
2. We don't think of this fellow as a science fiction writer. In fact, mentioning his name makes most of us think of sea yarns, the Yukon, and dogs. But he wrote several works of science fiction, including one in which some Pacific Islanders were worshipping an alien artefact, which puts him ahead of the Doctor Who franchise. Can you name the writer, and for extra credit, the story?
3. His father invented the editorial. (Now we know who to blame.) But Unitarian clergyman Edward Everett Hale wrote the first short story about. . . what science fiction wonder?
4. We ALL know that Jack Carter lives in Eureka, Oregon, these days, where he's sheriff to a town full of dangerous geeks. But Jack's name is a reference. Who invented the original John Carter, and what other famous character did he invent ?
5. What 1901 short story by HG Wells ended up as a Star Trek episode?
6. Why do experts date the invention of science fiction as an independent genre to 1926, and what famous name is associated with this development?
7. For this one, you don't have to remember (or be able to pronounce) the name of the writer who coined the word 'robot'. Just tell us what language the word 'robot' comes from.
8. The 1930s saw many terrible events in what is often laughably called 'Real Life'. There was a lot of reason to ignore the 'Don't Panic' sign. What fictional 'event' caused a real-life panic in the US in 1938?
9. Speaking of the overlap between science fiction and science reality, what topic was so touchy during World War II that the mere mention of it brought the FBI down on the offices of Astounding Science Fiction?
10. Science fiction prepared the public to believe a lot of unusual things. What 1947 US event completely blurred the line between science fact and science fiction, and what did the government do about it?

As usual, click on the picture for answers.

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Dmitri Gheorgheni

14.05.12 Front Page

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