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"I identify with the weak person; this is one reason why my fictional protagonists are essentially antiheroes."
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![]() As far as I know, this is the first description of an automatic sliding door.
The first automatic sliding doors for use by people were invented in 1954 by Lew Hewitt and Dee Horton; the first one was installed in 1960. It made use of a mat actuator. The idea came to them in the mid-1950's, when they saw that existing swing doors had difficulty operating in the high winds of Corpus Christi, Texas.
Upward sliding garage doors date from the 1920's; the first electric door openers (not automatic) were sold in 1926. The rolltop desk, which has a similar form, was around in the mid-eighteenth century.
(Note: this item was formerly (incorrectly) attributed to Jules Verne. Sorry about that.) Comment/Join this discussion ( 2 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
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