Caring Modern Dentistry - November/December 2024

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This Issue

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Katie’s Heartfelt Farewell and New Adventure De-Stress the Holidays With These Simpler Traditions

Our Patients Say It Best

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The Dangers of Putting Off Dental Appointments

Exquisite Lemon Bars

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How Twain’s Predictions Became Internet Reality

Beam Us Up, Sci-Fi

How Fictional Tech Became Everyday Gadgetry

In the vast galaxy of science fiction, where flying cars, time travel, and alien encounters reign supreme, some of yesterday’s wildest dreams have become today’s marvels. It turns out that sci-fi authors weren’t just spinning cosmic yarns — they were predicting the future with interstellar foresight. Buckle up as we take a warp-speed tour through the sci-fi predictions that have boldly gone where no fiction has gone before, transforming from far-fetched fantasies into everyday realities. THE INTERNET The internet has become a part of our daily lives, and it’s hard to imagine a world without it. But long before dial-up, a well-known author predicted this critical technology. Though most people know Mark Twain for his literary classics, the

wordsmith occasionally dabbled in science fiction. In his 1898 story, “From the London Times in 1904,” Twain described a device connected to phone lines that would make the “daily doings of the globe” visible to everyone worldwide. Twain’s main protagonist spent much of his time on the “Telectroscope,” similar to how people are glued to the internet today. CELLPHONES Motorola engineer Martin Cooper designed the world’s first mobile phone in 1973, but his inspiration came from one of the most popular sci-fi shows ever. The first imagining of the modern cellphone was the communicator used in the 1964 debut episode of “Star Trek.” This forerunner to smartphones allowed the ship to communicate with Captain Kirk and his crew when they were on other planets.

MOON LANDING Author Jules Verne wrote about humans landing on the moon in his 1865 book “From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes.” Though he didn’t predict every detail of the Apollo 11 moon landing 104 years later, much of what he described matched this moment in space history. Verne’s three-man crew and NASA’s three astronauts both launched from Florida. NASA’s command module was named Columbia, similar to Verne’s spacecraft, Columbiad. After astronaut Neil Armstrong made his giant leap for humankind, he even referenced Verne’s book. Who knew that Mark Twain was the original tech guru or that Captain Kirk was out there giving us a sneak peek at cellphones?

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