Some modern inventions were actually inspired by the Tom Swift books. One was the taser developed by Jack Cover. A taser is basically an electrically-powered weapon which can paralyze people for a short time. It seemed a good fit to choose the word taser, which he meant as an acronym for the Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle. This was fitting, as Tom's invention functioned basically the same way.
Another of Swift's creations was the diving sea copter. The sea copter had the ability to submerge underwater but also to fly. The story came out in the early 1950s, and by the middle of the decade the U.S. government was attempting to create a similar device. Once again, Tom's imagination was seeping into the real world.
In 1922 another invention well ahead of its time was Tom Swift's electric locomotive. The application of a real-life locomotive using electrical power did not appear until a couple years later in New Jersey. The state's Central Railroad put a train of this kind into operation which used electrical power in addition to its diesel fuel.
As he did with the sea and land craft he devised, Swift took his imagination to the air as well with the invention of his sky train. A high-powered aircraft was strung together with gliders in tow to create a train of planes in the sky. The idea was to have passengers in the gliders. The gliders could be detached and set down when they reached their destination. Then new gliders with passengers could be added. The front plane would remain in the sky. Separate planes would tow the gliders to and from the sky train to accommodate passenger destinations and travel. In an age before giant jet airplanes, the idea was visionary if playful, but true jets made it an unnecessary thing to attempt.
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