OUTLINE
            
             According to H. Bruce Franklin, science fiction is "the only
             literature capable of exploring the macro-history of our species. . . in a
             cosmic context" (Science Fiction: The Early History, Internet) which
             suggests that man's place in the universe is dependent upon rock-solid
             scientific investigation and exploration. But as a literary/cinematic
             genre, science fiction can and often does contain inventions, ideas and
             theories based on pure speculation and pseudo-science. Some of the devices
             and instruments featured in many popular science fiction novels and films
             are in essence conceived through bad engineering, meaning that these
             devices and instruments are not practical nor possible according to present
             scientific knowledge. Out of all the novels and films written and produced
             within the last one hundred and fifty years, four stand out for their use
             of bad engineeringâ€"Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon (1865), R.U.R.
             by Karel Capek (1921), Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1926) and Maurice Elvey's
             Transatlantic Tunnel (1935).
             In the 1865 science fiction "classic" From the Earth to the Moon,
             Jules Verne, the author of other sci-fi novels such as Journey to the
             Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, expresses his
             admiration for all things American, especially their ingenuity and desire
             for exploration. In this novel, the so-called "daredevil" Michel Ardan
             comes up with the fabulous idea of sending a man to the moon via a
             spaceship that is to be "launched" from the barrel of a huge gun. This
             spaceship is to be made of aluminum, and to launch their "shot" at the
             proper angle, the men involved in this scheme choose a site in Florida near
             the present-day Cape Canaveral. As a preparatory experiment, Verne's
             "astronauts" send a cat and a squirrel into space first and then plan to
             retrieve them at sea.
             ...