On a populous colonised Mars in 2059, there are still video rental stores. K.S. Robinson's novel "Red Mars" appeared in 1993, two years before I got dial-up #internet access at home.
"The Panama Canal lies open and exposed to attack by modern bombers. Ships wait in line for their turns to thread its outgrown passage from sea to sea...WHY NOT BUILD A TUNNEL FOR SHIPS FROM ATLANTIC TO PACIFIC?"
Art for an article by Jorge Cortinez Delfino in June 1956's Popular Mechanics, signed "Weeks". I haven't been able to find the artist's full name.
I've been reading about Soviet mega-engineering visions, but happened across this New World one this morning.
@pauldrye more interestingly, the locks for the current panama canal operate on fresh water - every transit requires millions of gallons of potable water to raise the ships to canal level, then the water gets dumped when the ship is lowered on the other side. A tunnel on sea level would do away with that.
Kyle Sudrow was an actor, not hugely famous but most associated with the soap opera The Guiding Light.
He also did some work for the SF radio programs X Minus One and Dimension X. So, rather appropriately, he tried to launch a little bit of the future in the early 60s with the Helipod, a one-person VTOL craft.
@pauldrye
Based on the general shape, I'd be surprised if detractors at the time didn't refer to it as "Heaven's Punching Bag" or "The Flying Speed Bag".