Last week the phrase 'blast off' was coined by E. E. Smith, an early science fiction author often referred to as 'the father of space opera.' The term appeared in Smith's 1937 story Galactic Patrol, when one character inquires of another, 'How long do you figure it'll be before it's safe for us to blast off?'
And it turns out blast off isn't the only scientific word or phrase with science fictional origins. Here's a list of nine more.
1 comment(s):
You mis-copied the text excerpt -- the original reads "Last week it came to our attention that the phrase 'blast off' was coined...", whereas your excerpt reads "Last week the phrase 'blast off' was coined...". Quite different meanings -- and your version doesn't make sense, since it goes on to explain the phrase was coined in 1937.
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