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"[Science fiction] has become big business, where books are merchandised and promoted and distributed and placed on sale like slabs of bacon or cans of soup."
- Frederik Pohl

Stereovision Tank  
  Three dimensional mass media (the grandson of television).  

In the novel, Heinlein presents an interesting solution to the problem of presenting three-dimensional views without using special glasses. Note that this was written before anyone knew what a hologram was.

They went to the living room; Jill sat at his feet and they applied themselves to martinis. Opposite his chair was a stereovision tank disguised as an aquarium; he switched it on, guppies and tetras gave way to the face of the well-known winchell Augustus Greaves.
Technovelgy from Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein.
Published by Putnam in 1961
Additional resources -

As an aside, this is also probably the first reference for the idea of a screen saver. One of the earliest implemented screen savers was an aquarium scene.

There is an earlier mention of stereovision in The Star Beast, published in 1954; this quote is more interesting.

It is important to note that a sterovision tank is different from a "3D" movie or flatscreen projection. The first 3D movie is probably Power of Love, released in 1922. It used the anaglyph process, which involved shooting two views of a scene (each in its own color) and then combining them. The familiar red and green lensed glasses were used to create a stereoscopic effect. The famous movie House of Wax really kicked off the 3D movie craze in the early 1950's.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Stranger in a Strange Land
  More Ideas and Technology by Robert Heinlein
  Tech news articles related to Stranger in a Strange Land
  Tech news articles related to works by Robert Heinlein

Stereovision Tank-related news articles:
  - Three Dimensional Flat Panel Screen Announced
  - Processing Three-Dimensional Video In Real Time
  - 3D Holographic Images And Heinlein's Stereovision Tank
  - pCubee 3D Display Skips iPad For iCube

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