Editing Tom Swift (section)

== Cultural influence ==
[[File:Tom Swift and The Visitor from Planet X - dust jacket - Project Gutenberg eText 17985.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Two young men struggle with a piece of futuristic machinery as a ball of light streaks from the sky toward the device. In the background a large explosion throws stones up into the air.|Cover of ''Tom Swift and the Visitor from Planet X'' (1961), from the Tom Swift, Jr. Adventure Series]]

The Tom Swift books have been credited with assisting the success of American science fiction and with establishing the [[edisonade]] (stories focusing on brilliant scientists and inventors) as a basic cultural myth.<ref>Landon (2002), 48.</ref> Tom Swift's adventures have been popular since the character's inception in 1910: by 1914, 150,000 copies a year were being sold<ref name="Keeline">Keeline.</ref> and a 1929 study found the series to be second in popularity only to the [[Bible]] for boys in their early teens.<ref>Von der Osten (2004), 268.</ref> By 2009, Tom Swift books had sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.<ref name="Prager" /> The success of Tom Swift also paved the way for other Stratemeyer creations, such as [[The Hardy Boys]] and [[Nancy Drew]].

The series' writing style, which was sometimes adverb heavy, suggested a name for a type of adverbial pun promulgated during the 1950s and 1960s, a type of [[wellerism]] known as "[[Tom Swifty|Tom Swifties]]".<ref name="SS1">{{cite web| last=Lundin|first=Leigh| title=Wellerness| url=http://www.sleuthsayers.org/2011/11/wellerness.html |work=Word Play| publisher=SleuthSayers| location=Orlando |date= November 20, 2011}}</ref> Originally this kind of pun was called a "Tom Swiftly" in reference to the adverbial usage. Over time, it has come to be called a "Tom Swifty".{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} Some examples are {{"'}}I lost my crutches,' said Tom lamely", and {{"'}}I'll take the prisoner downstairs', said Tom condescendingly."<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine |date=1963-05-31 |title=Season for Swifties |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,896821,00.html |access-date=2023-10-22 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref>

Tom Swift's fictional inventions have apparently inspired several actual inventions, among them [[Lee Felsenstein]]'s "Tom Swift Terminal", which "drove the creation of an early personal computer known as the [[Sol-20|Sol]]",<ref>Turner (2006), 115.</ref> and the [[taser]]. The name "taser" was originally "TSER", for "Tom Swift Electric Rifle". The invention was named for the central device in the story ''Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle'' (1911); according to inventor [[Jack Cover]], "an 'A' was added because we got tired of answering the phone 'TSER'."<ref>Sun Wire Services (2009).</ref>

A number of scientists, inventors, and science fiction writers have also credited Tom Swift with inspiring them, including [[Raymond Kurzweil|Ray Kurzweil]],<ref>Pilkington (2009), 32.</ref> [[Robert A. Heinlein]], and [[Isaac Asimov]].<ref>Bleiler and Bleiler (1990), 15.</ref> ''[[Gone with the Wind (novel)|Gone with the Wind]]'' author [[Margaret Mitchell]] was also known to have read the first series as a child.<ref name=autogenerated41>Jones, A. G., ''Tomorrow is Another Day: the woman writer in the South, 1859–1936'', p. 322.</ref> Filmmaker [[George Lucas]] shows the 16-year-old [[Indiana Jones]] reading a Tom Swift novel — and the author Edward Stratemeyer himself appearing as a character — in the episode ''Spring Break Adventure'' of the television series ''[[The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles|Young Indiana Jones]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Many Adventures of Tom Swift by "Victor Appleton" {{!}} Tor.com |url=https://www.tor.com/2019/11/21/the-many-adventures-of-tom-swift-by-victor-appleton/ |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=www.tor.com|date=21 November 2019 }}</ref>

The Tom Swift Jr. series was also a source of inspiration to many. Scientist and television presenter [[Bill Nye]] said the books helped "make me who I am", and they inspired him to launch his own young adult series.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.inverse.com/article/32511-bill-nye-jack-and-the-geniuses-book|title=Bill Nye Says An Adventure Book Inspired Him to Become a Scientist|last=Sloat|first=Sarah|date=June 5, 2017|website=Inverse|access-date=April 20, 2019}}</ref> Microsoft founders [[Paul Allen]] and [[Bill Gates]] also read the books as children, as did co-founder of competing company [[Apple Inc.|Apple]], [[Steve Wozniak]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/paul-allen-microsoft-co-founder-and-billionaire-investor-dies-at-xx/2018/10/15/17884968-d0c6-11e8-8c22-fa2ef74bd6d6_story.html|title=Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder and billionaire investor, dies at 65|last=Smith|first=Harrison|date=October 15, 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=April 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>Kendall (2000), 4.</ref> Wozniak, who cited the series as his inspiration to become a scientist, said the books made him feel "that engineers can save the world from all sorts of conflict and evil".<ref>Comment published on the blurb to Nitrozac (2003).</ref><ref>Linzmayer (2004), 1.</ref>