Updated: May 30, 2024

If Jules Verne liked anything, it was writing overly specific, hard sci-fi and then waiting for someone else to come along and make it into reality. The Nautilus wasn't the only fantastic vessel he inspired, either: a young boy named Igor Sikorsky read the Verne novel Clipper of the Clouds or Robur the Conqueror back in the day. Lil' Igor was so taken with the idea of a flying, lighter-than-air ship that he grew up to invent his very own flying machine, also known as the modern helicopter.

Verne and Wells pop up a lot when we're talking about classic sci-fi that influenced real life science. The main difference, though, is that Verne usually came up with fun new modes of transportation, and Wells usually came up with devastating new ways to wipe out most of humanity. The War of the Worlds is about Martians invading Earth, but the American scientist Robert H. Goddard actually did use it as a jumping off point for inventing a mode of transportation. The liquid fueled rocket was inspired by Wells' terrifying Martians and their interplanetary ships.