Video Ads and Other Ways Sci-Fi Came True

This week's edition of Entertainment Weekly features a video screen embedded right into the magazine. While some are poo-pooing the impact of the gimmick, which features an ad for Pepsi Max and CBS's fall lineup, we think this is a frakkin' cool-ass development. Just a few short years ago, we pointed and laughed at "Minority Report"'s video-enabled newspapers, and now they are (pretty much) a reality.

This got us thinking about the ways that real life has caught or surpassed science fiction. Check out more sci-fi gizmos with their real-life competition ...

Starfleet Communicator vs. Cell Phones
Any teenage girl could tell Captain Kirk that nobody uses flip-phones anymore. And what's with that tired ringtone? But even the centuries-more-advanced com badge requires the user to reach all the way up and touch it. Modern man, instead, took his cues from the Borg by assimilating the voice-activated Bluetooth into his skull.

True, the Starfleet gear could transmit at subspace frequencies, but they needed tricorders to do much of anything else, while today's man just says, "There's an app for that!"

Winner: Real Life

Sick Stick vs. Crap Cannon
The cops in "Minority Report" brandished "sick sticks," batons that cause Mr. Creosote-level projectile vomiting from whomever they touch. While this is hilarious to watch, the sick sticks are too easy to turn against the user, and require that you get within a few feet of your victim. The potential for blowback is real, and gross.

The top-secret Crap Cannon, also known as the "Brown Note," emits a low-frequency sound beam that causes victims to crap their pants. While its existence has not been confirmed, scientists do confirm that certain frequencies do irritate the bowels.

Winner: Real Life

Transporter Beam vs. Quantum Teleporter
Perhaps Dr. McCoy was right not to trust that damn transporter beam, but when it comes to being destroyed at point A and reassembled at point B, it's a tough gizmo to beat. 21st-century man has, however, managed to teleport a quantum of information from one atom to another atom about a yard away! Do we get credit for bullet trains and the Chunnel?

Winner (for now): Science Fiction

Death Star vs. International Space Station
While the Death Star certainly lives up to the "Death" portion of its name, "Star" is a bit of a reach. The space station is tiny compared to the average star, but we guess "Mortality Moon" just didn't have a great ring to it. Equipped with planet-destroying firepower and a belly full of marauding stormtroopers, the Death Star does have a crucial weakness: an unhelpful tendency to blow up if you hit it just right.

The International Space Station, on the other hand, has been operating explosion-free for over 10 years now. While it can't destroy a planet, the station's microgravity environment allows scientists to study combinations of fluids that don't mix well on Earth. Olive Oil martini, anyone?

Winner: Real Life

Hal 9000 vs. OnStar
There's really no contest here. Not only will Hal not open the pod bay doors, he'll also kill all of your co-workers and kick your ass at chess. Your friendly OnStar rep, on the other hand, will open your Hummer's pod bay door if you lock your keys inside. OnStar reps will also call you if they sense you've had an accident, get police to help you, even save you from snakes. And I bet they'd even sing "Daisy" if you'd ask real nice.

Winner: Real Life

What other gadgets from science fiction have since become a reality?