Etc. Etc. Etc. From Sci-Fi to Sci-Fact “We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better . . . stronger . . . faster.” Back in the 70s, kids recited that opening as they gathered around the TV on Friday nights to see how , The Six Million Dol- lar Man, would use his bionic eye, arm Father of Bionics and legs to avert Jack Steele coined the term bionics in 1958 while disaster and save working in the Aeronautics Division at Wright- the day. Patter­son Air Force Base. It was first Fast-forward 40 listed in the dictionary in 1960 years and science with this meaning: “A science fiction has be- concerned with the application come reality in the of data about the functioning form of Frank, the of biological systems to the Incredible Bionic solution of engineering Man. With a price

problems.” The term tag of only $1 mil- s m i t hs on ia n network took on a new lion, the 6-ft, 170-lb meaning when it creation was on display in an exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Air was included in and Space Museum in late 2013. Created by Rich Walker and Matthew Martin Caidin’s Godden of Shadow Robot Co., Frank featured 28 artificial body parts, , and including a pancreas, lungs, spleen and functioning circulatory system. the field of study “The whole idea of the project [was] to get together all of the spare Steele was referenc- parts that already exist for the human body today [in] one piece,” ex- ing eventually became plains Bertolt Meyer, a social psychologist at the University of Zurich in known as biomimetics. Switzerland who narrates a Smithsonian Channel documentary on the ©KIRILM/thinkstock creation and served as the model for the man. View the documentary at http://bit.ly/KZNSw1 and find an infographic on the project athttp:// Three About Six bit.ly/KSXhox. 1) The Six Million Dollar Man ran for five seasons, “Life! Do you hear me? Give my creation life!” totaling 103 episodes. Gene Wilder (as Dr. Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein) 2) The series was adapted from Cyborg, a novel by Martin Caidin. 3) National Museum of American History has a lunch box commemorating the series in its collection.

On the Big Screen “Every great Hollywood has certainly advance in done its best to capitalize on science has our fascination with hybrid issued from a beings. Here are just a few of the memorable creations new audacity of we’ve been entertained by imagination.” A new take on “anchor point.” over the years. John Dewey Photo by Pat Pritchett, Heart of America Chapter Inspector Gadget FEBRUARY Safety Photo of the Month The Borg Edward Scissorhands If you have a cartoon, anecdote, joke or interesting safety Darth Vader item you’d like to submit for publication on this page, Robocop send your contribution to [email protected]. D.A.R.Y.L. Submissions will not be returned. The Terminator 56 ProfessionalSafety FEBRUARY 2014 www.asse.org