Fantasy movies, historical fables, and modern tales all have their own types of ‘sciences’. While some are outlandish and unfathomable, there are many others that have proven to be more accurate and readily available than originally expected.

Our knowledge of how our world works and what we can create is constantly growing. How we view the world is what gives context to new concepts that are presented before us, so if we take these once bewildering ideas and put them in a modern light, you might just be surprised as to how normal they are.

Before we look to fantasy, let’s look at history. The phenomenon known as Angel’s Glow became a battlefield legend during the Civil War at the Battle of Shiloh. Soldiers who were stuck waiting for treatment in a rainy, muddy battlefield were able to survive against all odds with, literally, glowing wounds.

This seemingly divine sight could inspire hope or horror depending on the individual. What we did not know at the time was that this divine image was actually the work of bioluminescent bacteria known as P. luminescens. Nematodes carried this bacteria into the bodies of soldiers, where it was only able to survive because the rain and wind had lowered the body temperatures of the men. Once inside the body, the nematodes vomited up the P. luminescens which then released a chemical that killed the host larvae and any other could-be deadly microorganisms in the environment. A matter of circumstances gave troops that ability to survive and a second chance no one had expected.

Slo-Mo is the name of a drug that allows users to slow down time in the movie Judge Dredd. It is highly addictive and causes more than one issue throughout the movie’s story.

While the movie’s effects are rather beautiful, especially considering their age, the odd truth is that they are not particularly far from reality. A warped sense of time is an incredibly common effect of psychedelics, though characters in the movie are able to take advantage of this effect in an impossible way.

The major differing factor between the average psychedelic and Slo-Mo is that most psychedelics are not chemically addictive. Of course, they can be dangerous and emotionally addictive, but they do not have the same additives as cigarettes that make them near-impossible to leave behind. Ultimately, Slo-Mo is a simple psychedelic mixed with the concept of addiction to give it a more dangerous feel. So, while scary, it is certainly not outside the realm of possibility.

In fantasy settings, the term potion is an end-all-be-all for a liquid with a usually magical effect. In fantasy settings such as Dungeons and Dragons or Warhammer, there are effective immunity potions that give you an increased resistance to effects, such as poison, for a period of time.

If this is already sounding familiar, that is good, because it should! Immunity potions in a modern world are, essentially, vaccines. They are crafted formulas that provide those who utilize them the ability to move freely in what could be considered a dangerous space for a period of time.

While we haven’t come up with a vaccine to combat the effects of being on fire, we have created vaccines that have saved the lives of millions by making it harder to become infected by deadly viruses, so we are thankful that this item exists outside a world of fantasy.

Of course, in many ways, modern science has been inspired by these tall tales. Seeing something fantastical can be a great way to inspire some of the best minds to work. It just may be that the fixes to our major problems might already exist in fantasy and are just waiting for us to bring them to reality!

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