List of fictional devices in Futurama

This is a list of fictional gadgets featured in the television series Futurama.

Dark matter

In Futurama, dark matter is a super-dense material used as starship fuel. It usually appears as a black golf-ball sized orb.

It is first mentioned in "Love's Labours Lost in Space". Professor Farnsworth states that "each pound weighs over 10,000 pounds"; in the episode "The Why of Fry", Fry claims a small amount of dark matter "weighs as much as a thousand Suns". The substance is shown as being heavy enough for small amounts to be immovable by non-mechanical beings.

The only source of dark matter mentioned in the series is Nibbler and the Nibblonians, who excrete the matter as a form of waste. It is revealed that dark matter used to fill the planet Vergon 6 until the entire supply was mined out to be used as fuel. Upon observing that Nibbler excretes dark matter, Leela infers that it was Nibbler's race (and hence the Nibblonians) who deposited dark matter on Vergon 6 many millennia ago. This is reinforced in "The Why of Fry", when Nibbler states that he was stationed on Vergon 6 circa 1999.

Although dark matter is no longer mined from Vergon 6, it still is used as fuel. In several episodes, the Planet Express ship burns solid dark matter in a fashion similar to steam locomotives, using furnaces in the engine room.

An alternative form of dark matter is presented in the Episode "Birdbot of Ice-Catraz", in which the crew is sent to tow a tanker containing "rich, Colombian dark matter oil". The oil turns out to be a potent aphrodisiac.

Dark matter engine afterburners
An invention by Professor Farnsworth which is used on the Planet Express Ship. He claims they give 200% fuel efficiency
to the dark matter engines. Cubert comments that this is "especially impossible" (having dismissed several of Farnsworth's other inventions as impossible beforehand). Later in the same episode, Cubert discovers the engines do not move the ship, but rather move the universe around the ship.

Deathclock
First seen in the episode "A Big Piece of Garbage", the Deathclock was invented by Professor Farnsworth for the Academy of Science Symposium. One inserts his finger into a slot at the top of the box and a display shows how long that person has left to live. The Professor claims that the device can be off by a few seconds due to free will. Fry is the only one who actually uses it in the episode, and although the time he has left is not shown, it does surprise the rest of the cast and causes Bender to call "dibs" on Fry's CD player. This device is a parody to the once popular but still numerous "deathclocks" found on the internet, claiming to calculate the day of one's passing through a randomized algorithm.

F-Ray

An F-Ray is a device still in experimentation which Professor Farnsworth invented. Resembling a simple flashlight, the F-Ray actually emits a powerful neutrino beam with capabilities similar to an X-ray, but with the exception that the F-ray is not limited by an inability to see through metal. Used under flimsy pretenses, the Professor used the F-ray as a diagnostic tool for robots and other metal machinery.

As the beam emitted is a "tad bit dangerous", it is recommended that safety glasses be worn while it is being used, although Farnsworth wears a full radiation hazard suit. He forewarns both the patient, Bender, and onlooking crew that they "may feel a slight stinging sensation" because of its use. It has been shown to be an extremely efficient spermicide, as evidenced by Fry doubling up and crying "Ow! My sperm!" when hit by the beam once, but feeling nothing when hit a second time.

In "Fry & The Slurm Factory", the Professor hands the F-ray to Fry and Bender and tells them to lock it up while he takes his radiation suit to the decontaminators. They both then use the F-ray to look inside several thousand cans of Slurm in hopes of winning a contest and getting to party with Slurms Mackenzie.

Fing-Longer

Another invention by Farnsworth, the Fing-Longer serves as a tool for operating machines over a "fair-sized distance." The invention itself merely comprises a glove with an extended index finger that allows the user to press buttons and so forth. The Fing-Longer was first seen in "Anthology of Interest I", and was used to turn on the What-If machine. Later, it is discovered that the Fing-Longer was in fact not invented by Professor Farnsworth, and he had merely asked the What-If machine to show him what life would be like if he had. The Professor or another unseen character may have invented the fing-longer within the canon Futurama universe however, as the Professor uses it in "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz.
The name 'Fing Longer' is an obvious anagram of 'Long Finger'."

Holophonor

The holophonor is a fictional musical instrument which is extremely difficult to master (Leela comments that only a few people in the entire universe can play it, and "they're not very good at it.") The holophonor creates holographic images shaped by the complexity of the music and the thoughts of the musician. In the DVD commentary of "Parasites Lost" and "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings" it is stated that the instrument is directly based on the "Visi-Sonor" from Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Empire, a similarly difficult instrument which produces both music and dazzling images.

Fry, during a time when his body was infested by "parasitic" worms who were greatly improving his physical and mental abilities, found himself able to create intricate and complex musical/holographic pieces, enabling him to win Leela's affection. When Fry realized that Leela liked him more for who he had become rather than who he really was, however, he made the worms leave his body; afterwards his skill dropped considerably ("Parasites Lost").

Fry attempted to regain his skill, reading the instruction guide My First Holophonor and taking lessons. Unable to become proficient, he agreed to exchange hands with the Robot Devil. With these mechanical and highly nimble fingers, Fry achieved mastery of the holophonor and fame as a performer. This mastery, as well as his initial pact with the Robot Devil, is the basis for the events of the series finale "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings". His performance produces typical images of dancing and landscapes that would be expected for a performance, except with giant snails (a reference to the song "The Grumpy Snail" from My First Holophonor) appearing and joining in as subtle humor.

Leela's wristband

Leela wears a computerized wristband, which she refers to as "this thing I wear on my wrist" or variations thereof. Its purpose is unclear, perhaps even to her, although it could be related to her old cryonics job, as seen in "Space Pilot 3000", when she uses it as a communicator to talk to the cop Smitty. She wears it even when sleeping, although she occasionally leaves it off when formally dressed. The arm she wears her wristband on occasionally changes during the series.

The wristband also serves as a gaming device ("If anyone gets bored, I've got Tetris on this thing!"—"Luck of the Fryrish"), a cutting laser ("Luck of the Fryrish" deleted scene), an "emergency face laser" ("Spanish Fry"), a tracking device or "LoJackamator" ("How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back"), and a food tester ("this thing I wear on my wrist says they're not poisonous"—"The Problem with Popplers"). In "," during a robot rebellion, it leaps off her wrist and cries "Try washing your wrist sometime."

Amy Wong, Cubert Farnsworth, and other background characters can be seen wearing wristbands similar to Leela's at times, but do not seem to use them as often.

Her wristband conceals a bracelet given to her by her parents when they abandoned her.

The Probulator

The Probulator is used by the staff at Applied Cryogenics. Each time a person is thawed out from his or her chamber, they are taken to the Probulator. There they strip down and are essentially probed (apparently a very painful process). Among other things, the Probulator is used to determine whether one has any living relatives, possibly by DNA extraction. According to Bender, the Probulator "sure knows how to please a man."
A comment on the DVD commentary mentions Fox sent a note to the writers that read "standard caution on the Probulator"; since apparently the Fox Network had created guidelines for the use of probes, from previous shows.

Relative Detector
Seen briefly in "Space Pilot 3000", two people put their fingers into the machine and the machine turns on a light if the two people are related. Professor Farnsworth used this to prove to himself that Fry was his great, great, etc. uncle.

Robo Puppy
Robo Puppy is the name of a robot dog bought by Bender in the episode titled "Jurassic Bark". Bender buys this dog in response to Fry's puppy, Seymour. Robo Puppy resembles AIBO, and precedes each of its actions with a detailed description; for example:

* "Robo Puppy preparing to lick cheek." "Robo Puppy commencing cheek licking." "Licking in progress." "Licking complete."
* "Commencing two hour yipping session. Yip, yip, yip, yip, ..."
* "ROBO PUPPY MISTREATMENT ALERT! ROBO PUPPY MISTREATMENT ALERT!"

Robot wash
In the episode titled "My Three Suns", Bender puts himself through the Robot wash, which is like a car wash. He is then immediately rained on.

Smelloscope

In the episode "A Big Piece of Garbage", Professor Farnsworth invents the Smelloscope after Mars University Professor Ogden Wernstrom identifies that Professor Farnsworth had already presented his invention, the deathclock, the year before. It is later revealed that the smelloscope had also been designed and invented the previous year and the professor had merely forgotten about it. Fry sees the smelloscope and immediately starts pointing it around, smelling extra-terrestrial aromas (despite the fact smells can't travel in space in real life), until Farnsworth says that Fry has discovered an object with "a stench so foul, it ranks right off the funkometer". The smelloscope is later used in "Godfellas", "Time Keeps on Slippin'", and "A Clone of My Own".

Stop'n'Drop suicide booth

The Stop'n'Drop suicide booth is a large machine that performs suicides for its customers. It has two death choices: "quick and painless", and "slow and horrible". It is placed on street corners and costs 25 cents. The booths get rid of the dead bodies of their customers by vaporizing them. Fry mistakes a booth for a phone booth in the pilot episode "Space Pilot 3000", and he and Bender accidentally pay for a "slow and horrible" death, which uses a knife, a drill, a saw, a (as a taser), etc. to kill a person. The "slow and horrible" weapons can be evaded by moving to the far left or far right of the booth. The booth's slogan is "Thank you for using Stop'n'Drop, America's favorite suicide booth since 2008."

What-If Machine

Another of Farnsworth's inventions, the What-If machine, is made partly of gold, and operates on many elaborate operating techniques. It answers its users' hypothetical "what if" questions, by showing a possible scenario, "plausible to one-tenth of a plausibility unit", on the screen. It is activated by asking the "what-if" question it is to answer, and then pressing a button, burning incense, pulling a pull-string, or pulling a slot machine lever.

The What-If Machine is the central focus in the episodes "Anthology of Interest I" and "Anthology of Interest II". The first A.O.I., with the exception of the final scene, is not canon, because the whole thing was just a "what if" scenario. This would explain the Professor's explanation of the machine to his employees.

Other Devices
* Advanced Robotics (Bender, Flexo, Calculon, etc.)
* Artificial intelligence - The Planet Express Ship along with the various robotic characters of the show have artificial intelligence. The artificial intelligence of the Planet Express Ship is a major plot point in the episode "Love and Rocket".
* Intelligence enhancement via an Electronium Hat in the episode "Mars University." Works by harnessing the power of sunspots to create mind enhancing gamma radiation, as explaned by the Professor. The effects of the radiation are only temporary. The Professor's test monkey Guenther is the current possessor of the hat, due to the events of the episode, is only working at 50% capacity.
* Unnamed wheelchair-like device, enclosed in a black cabinet with a foot pedal that emits a morse code beep when pressed. Used once by one of the Professor's former delivery employees, who was hardly alive in A Clone of My Own to talk about the Professor, and by Fry, Leela, and Bender in Where No Fan Has Gone Before when testifying regarding their illegal travel to Omega 3.
* Interstellar Space Travel, which uses dark matter engines, and possibly other fuels.
* Anti-gravity, used mostly in hovercars.
* Virtual reality ("The Series Has Landed")
* Gaydar
* Gay Weather Balloon
* Unamed hat with a crank that spun a propeller on the top of the hat allowing the user to fly, seen in A Big Piece of Garbage
* Cloning ("A Clone of My Own")
* Memory ray to restore lost memory.
* X-Ray specs
* Cryonics ("Space Pilot 3000" and "The Cryonic Woman")
* The process of keeping human heads alive in jars (credited in the show to 21st century inventor and infomercial star Ron Popeil)
* Directed-energy weapons (Guns, clubs, and various death rays)
* Anti-pressure suppositories which the crew uses in the episode "The Deep South"
* Gravity Pump, a device that makes artificial gravity and anti-gravity possible.
* Various doomsday devices, most of which are created by Professor Farnsworth
* Cool-O-Meter, a device which measures how cool a person is. The readout is in Mega-Fonzies ("Bender Should Not Be Allowed On TV")
* Genetic engineering
* Universal Translator, a device which can translate anything but will only translate into unintelligible gibberish. The gibberish is actually modern French, which, in the Futurama universe, is a dead language.
* Killamajig, a club containing various pain-inflicting devices.
* Smell-O-Vision
* Holograms- (Actually volumetric displays) within the Professor's lifetime holograms have advanced from black-and-white, silent productions, to fully-interactive, audio-video, and sometimes painful simulations
* Clap-activated Candles
* Self-Microwaving Bavarian cream-filled Hotdog
* Bicycle Gun
* The Party Board
* The Unbreakable Diamond Tether
* The Career Chip
* The Angry Dome

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu