Johnny Hart Was Centuries Ahead Of His Time

By Sean Kleefeld | Saturday, July 06, 2013 4 comments
Back in 1958, Johnny Hart's Thor character from the comic strip B.C. invented the wheel. In the strip, it didn't lead to cars or carts, but was typically used by running a small log through the middle of it and sailing along on just a single wheel.
This morning, while I was out running, I saw someone cruising along in EXACTLY the same way using something called a Solowheel...
I was never a big fan of B.C. as Hart was getting pretty heavy into using his strip to proselytize by the time I was able to read, but I will give him credit for coming up with the single wheel idea long before anyone actually made one! (Honestly, I don't think I've even seen anything comprable in fiction outside of B.C.)
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4 comments:

dharmalex said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
1:26 PM, April 28, 2021
dharmalex said...

Sorry to be a grammar nazi, but I think by saying "prosthetize" (to restore), you possibly meant "Proselytize" (the action of attempting to convert someone from one religion, belief, or opinion to another.). On the subject of the one wheel design, I do agree that Johnny Hart should be credited for providing the conceptual seed for this modern mode of transportation. I thought the same as you, the very first time I saw one go whizzing by me years ago!

1:30 PM, April 28, 2021

Good catch on proselytize. It should be corrected now. Thanks!

9:00 PM, April 28, 2021
Barrett said...

Funny how I happened on this by chance: the very first time I saw someone on a Solowheel (or its equivalent), I thought immediately of Hart and B.C. Loved the comic (and Wizard of Id, for that matter), but agree about getting tired of Hart's increasingly heavy-handedness. Thanks for this!

10:33 PM, June 16, 2021

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