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"We follow the scientists around and look over their shoulders. They're watching their feet: provable mistakes are bad for them. We're looking as far ahead as we can, and we don't get penalized for mistakes."
- Larry Niven
 |
| Clothing Size Scanner | ||
| A device that scanned a living person to determine clothing sizes. |
Depahli De is interested in a particular suit; is it available in her size?
| "If you'd like to step into our scanner, please?"
The department's scanner raced red lights up and down her form, penetrating her sari to take her measurements. |
| From Sagramanda,
by Alan Dean Foster. Published by Pyr in 2006 Additional resources -
|
The first example of the use of technology to determine size without the need to take clothes off became popular in the 1940's and 1950's. Most shoe stores had an x-ray machine that would show the outlines of the shoe, and the bones of the person's feet, thus ensuring a proper fit. It has been estimated that over 10,000 of these machines were in operation. At the time, the hazards of indiscriminate x-ray use were not known; these machines were outlawed in most states by 1970.
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