Scientific American ran an intriguing advertisement from the Electro Importing company “Everything for the Experimenter,” it boasted “We give you the opportunity to tick yourself up to the head of a future wireless telegraph company as did Marconi a mail-order set of a small battery transmitter and receiver was aimed at budding engineers and enthusiasts alike—and it was a bestseller These ads appeared during a boom in amateur interest in science and electronics both as hobbies and as routes to careers in industries that seemed destined to define the future Tinkerers and living-room scientists of all ages had a growing thirst for news of the latest developments in science and technology catering to the scientifically curious and the hobbyist technologist These publications were meant to educate—but also to entertain Their illustrations were drawn by artists who were also some of the 20th century’s most popular pulp and comics artists They blurred the lines between scientific speculation and speculative fiction; plans for practical experiments would sit alongside articles that postulated that we’d someday have readable newspapers delivered to our television sets And since these publications had a huge reach—sometimes in the millions—their ideas permeated culture But how much were those visions future science played a significant role in sparking the general public’s curiosity about science and technology in the early 20th century He helped popularize amateur “wireless,” first by importing radio parts then moving into publishing: Modern Electrics was the first magazine about electronics and radio he had established the Wireless Association of America which had a membership of over 10,000 in its first year he estimated that over 400,000 people were involved in amateur radio a radio station in New York City; three years later the station would be involved in some of the first television broadcasts He was committed to broadcasting across all media: over his career he published and edited over 50 magazines that he began to blur science fact and fiction The first issue of Amazing Stories from the “publishers of Radio News Radio Internacional.” 1926.AdvertisementAmazing Stories was the first dedicated science fiction magazine (It was for this that Gernbach’s first name is lent to the Hugo Awards the preeminent science fiction and fantasy literature awards that have been given out every year since 1953.) By 1939 there were over a dozen magazines dedicated to science fiction; fans created their own organizations and conventions and began to write amateur stories that were published alongside professional works magazine stands were full of publications catering to amateur scientists and Popular Mechanics reported on progress in science and technology interest in which was sharpened by the Second World War “Is US Building a ‘New Moon’?” Cover by Ray Ploch Popular Science had over a million readers per issue Falling somewhere between an educational publication and a monthly oracle these periodicals would straddle the line between science and science fiction presenting beautifully-detailed illustrations of futuristic concepts based on the latest scientific discoveries of the day to using “radio-tele-mechanics,” to controlling a gasoline-fueled tear-gas-dispensing Radio Police Automaton Artists speculated that automation could also revolutionize healthcare: a robotic avatar would allow the doctor to visit you virtually with two-way television and robotic arms controlled by data transmitted down a phone line “The Teledoctor — Teledoctoring replaces inefficient house calls.” Television 1955.“Electrobots” would help with menial tasks around the home which Mechanix Illustrated framed as future “slaves,” predicting that by 1965 “You’ll Own Slaves.” If the headline wasn’t already troubling in and of itself the copywriter doubles down on the analogy: “In 1863 only this time we won’t fight a Civil War over them Slavery will be here to stay.” The follow-up reassurance—“Don’t be alarmed We mean robot ‘slaves.’”—is… less than reassuring more famous for his comics work: He did Daredevil for Marvel and worked on EC science fiction comics Weird Science and Weird Fantasy Many artists presented automation on a bigger scale than household robots Building and infrastructure were common themes often centering around transport and the desire to shorten travel time or bridges to connect distant locations were a popular thread; a floating underwater “concrete tube” linking Gibraltar and Africa was a particularly ambitious example This was actually proposed as a solution when the undersea rock was found to be too hard for drilling a tunnel Despite the devastation of the First World War the technological boom that accompanied it spurred factual magazines to theorize on more advanced methods of future warfare These images often looked more akin to those in the science-fiction publications they shared shelf space with Texas inventor AJ Richardson proposed the “Tumbleweed Tank” to break the deadlock of trench warfare the American Army saw a problem: if soldiers were sealed inside to prevent poison gas attacks how could they see what was going on outside “Secret weapons” have a firm foundation in pulp storytelling an artist who spent the First World War as a draftsman in the War Department This Mechanix Illustrated spread touches on rumors of an “arctic death mist”—a gas developed by Nazi scientists that could wipe out an entire country by freezing all it touches then dispersing to allow “the enemy to capture a country and its resources intact.” a spread about a “Cosmic Ray-Gun” suggests that while the atomic bomb is seen as the “ultimate weapon,” “a conviction has been growing that Einstein’s original equation E=MC² has not had its final say.” 1947.AdvertisementMissile shields were explored in magazines decades before Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” initiative: “Flying Missiles CAN be Stopped!” appeared shortly after V-2 rockets designed by Nazi engineer Wernher von Braun began raining down on Europe in September “Flying Missiles CAN be Stopped!” Mechanix Illustrated Collective fear centered on nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles—and how they could be stopped “How to Hit a Bullet with a Bullet in a Blizzard” breaks down the task in greater detail than its pulpish counterparts looking at the decision-making process that the “multi-function array radar” and connected computer make during an attack “How to Hit a Bullet with a Bullet in a Blizzard.” Max Gschwind 1965.AdvertisementArtist Max Gschwind worked in the Office of Strategic Services—the predecessor to the CIA—during World War Two producing information in graphical form for the troops He later became one of Fortune’s key visual personnel illustrating ideas about science and technology using detailed sophisticated imagery to explain complex ideas to readers While magazines had big circulation numbers newspapers provided daily penetration into American homes Comic strips had an even broader reach than a local newspaper as they were syndicated across the United States As science fiction magazines grew in popularity with swashbuckling characters like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon But these sat side-by-side with syndicated factual comic strips and though they mostly dealt with historical topics Americans worried about falling behind in the Space Race wanted to foster more interest in science education but two future-looking strips meant to educate while they entertained: “Our New Age” and “Closer Than We Think.” geophysicist and oceanographer Athelstan Spilhaus launched “Our New Age,” a strip that would explore ideas about the future through syndication in more than 100 newspapers over the next two decades it tackled a different scientific principle each week extrapolating where current developments might lead ocean buoys would eventually become homes and workplaces He wrote: “people living and working in clusters of these floating homes heliports and docks will occupy the sea in the first floating ocean cities.” And while floating cities may not have come to pass—yet—Spilhaus’s predictions of a satellite revolution 1962.Arthur Radebaugh had spent the Second World War in the US Army’s Pentagon Ordnance Research and Development Department in the Design and Visualization Branch he developed mastery of the airbrush; on iconic campaigns for Bohn and National Oil Seals his imagination shaped ideas “halfway between science fiction and designs for modern living.” Radebaugh launched “Closer Than We Think,” a strip that mixed science and futurism; it illustrated a staggering array of possibilities in its five-year run “Closer Than We Think” reached 19 million readers across North America and it was often drawn in the back of Radebaugh’s van as he travelled the country looking for inspiration He was also a pioneer of recycling (his own work): He first used the following image as an advertisement for National Motor Bearing in 1954 Closer Than We Think.Extrapolating on an idea proposed by US Senator Warren Magnuson Radeburgh took the concept of connecting Alaska to Siberia (and possibly New York to Paris) and turned it into an underwater glass tunnel with drivers gazing up at shark-infested waters 1959.“Arctic War Train” looks to potential Cold War conflicts in the region with war machines powered by an atomic reactor He was inspired by Felix Cuervo from the Civil Aeronautics Administration who used a two-way closed-circuit television to interview candidates manner and ability can be gauged over television about as accurately as in personal interviews.” Closer Than We Think.It’s hard to quantify exactly what impact these futuristic images had on the scientific and technological advances of the 20th century But the circulation and longevity of magazines like Popular Mechanics and Popular Science—which have now run for over 100 years—means that populist ideas about the future have endured That populism was at odds with scientific credibility; Athelstan Spilhaus said that his “Our New Age,” was looked down upon by fellow academics he had a simple response: “Which of you has a class of five million every Sunday morning?” Among that five million was President John F Kennedy who appointed Spilhaus to direct the United States exhibit at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair “The only science I ever learned was from your comic strip in the Boston Globe.” The final installment of “Closer Than We Think” was published in 1963 and Radeburgh went into early retirement due to long-term ill health He had been using his airbrush to create his vision of the future since the late 1930s he described watching a feature on the Today show—a prototype parking lot using elevators and conveyor belts was being tested at Washington Dulles International Airport It was incredibly similar to something he had designed in 1948 “Most of my stuff was laughed at,” Radeburgh told the interviewer “But the guys now making this and other things come true are the guys who were sitting on the floor back in those days View upcoming auction estimates and receive personalized email alerts for the artists you follow The recent Foto/Industria Biennale shows how improvisation and mugging for the camera are as old as the medium the historical background of documentary photography between the revolutions of 1848 and 1917 Artists from all over the world will exhibit their works in Berlin beginning in September 2020 Dresden Magazin Die Vielfalt von Dresden Elbland im offiziellen Stadtmagazin Whether it’s the Trans-Siberian Railway or the Hogwarts Express people are charmed and fascinated by trains An ICE may get passengers to their destination at high speed but a ride in a steam train is an emotional experience and one of them has an anniversary coming up The Lössnitzgrundbahn dates back 135 years also fondly known as the ‘Lössnitz Dachshund’ So what is it that makes this train so special We talked to someone well qualified to answer the question: Kay-Torsten Zimmermann is a train driver rail enthusiast and volunteer member of Traditionsbahn Radebeul we can hear the locomotives chugging away in the background and it was what I always wanted to do from a very early age I started out working on the Parkeisenbahnpark in Dresden which also used to be known as the ‘Pioneer Railway’ And then I graduated to being an actual train driver on the Reichsbahn I work on the DB Regio network driving electric and diesel trains in the Dresden area I’ve recently become deputy railway manager here but I still also drive the steam and diesel locomotives The Lössnitzgrundbahn is one of Germany’s few narrow-gauge railways that are still in existence and there is a high concentration of them here in Saxony What makes this line so special is the variety; it goes through changing scenery then Moritzburg with its lakes and finally the approach to Radeburg through undulating landscape So you get a lot of variety over the relatively short distance of 16.5 kilometres there were locomotives that looked a bit like a dachshund while they were on the move They look just the way they did when they belonged to the Königlich Sächsische Staatseisenbahn – the Royal Saxon State Railways – during the period until the end of the First World War with open platforms and coal-fired heating beautiful upholstered seats and even some wooden ones The exertions are of a more physical nature The crew have much more of a connection with each other You have a train driver and a stoker – that’s teamwork You can also clearly sense what the machine is doing The Sächsische Dampfeisenbahngesellschaft is responsible for the regular timetable The train operates daily but with slightly more modern rolling stock: locomotives from the 50s with carriages that were overhauled in the 70s there is our historic train which we use for special trips we send out even older rolling stock from the late 19th and early 20th centuries organising a special outing to commemorate the anniversary of the Lössnitzgrundbahn The season starts every year in February with a service for visitors to the Radeburger Carnival There are monthly trips with different themes and the Karl May Festival in Radebeul with a staged hold-up by bandits and in December there will be a St Nicholas outing There are quite a few railways that I haven’t been on yet I went for a ride on the Rhodope railway in Bulgaria The glorious railway history of the Free State of Saxony is perpetuated in the Dampfbahn-Route Sachsen a rail network and holiday attraction for tourists and locals which links up five narrow-gauge railways operating on a daily basis three other steam-powered heritage railways The Dampfbahn-Route also incorporates the world’s oldest and largest paddle steamer fleet as well as some amazing cable cars Three branches of the Dampfbahn-Route Sachsen with a total length of around 700 kilometres converge on Dresden Wine and drama: Radebeul celebrates the onset of autumn the grape harvest and travelling theatre with a festival Augustus the Strong had great plans for0 his son 1719 reloaded – Dresden commemorates the wedding of the century with numerous events Experience Dresden Elbland in 360-degree panoramas:More than 60 locations were recorded using drones and high tripods Produced with funding from the Free State of Saxony within the framework of the Tourism Promotion Plan Essenzielle Cookies ermöglichen grundlegende Funktionen und sind für die einwandfreie Funktion der Website erforderlich Inhalte von Videoplattformen und Social-Media-Plattformen werden standardmäßig blockiert Wenn Cookies von externen Medien akzeptiert werden bedarf der Zugriff auf diese Inhalte keiner manuellen Einwilligung mehr bedarf der Zugriff auf diese Inhalte keiner manuellen Einwilligung mehr.