Too Many Professors?

Professor Kompressor in an inventor. He is excellent at inventing, but the inventions are not always excellent.

So… I have been jotting down inventive and I hope (at least occasionally) entertaining stories involving this absent-minded character since the beginning of last year. As the cast of characters keeps growing and the science on which each story is based becomes increasingly far fetched, I thought it would be interesting (and perhaps amusing) to try to figure out where the inspiration for the Professor really comes from. We all know that not much is new under the sun, so this character must be a rip-off, right?

Here are some obvious sources of inspiration (might add to the list later, but this is a start):

Professor Branestawm, Norman Foster’s mad inventor which his clocks that keep going around and around and any number of seemingly excellent schemes that backfire. You may recognize the presence of a faithful housekeeper… Heath Robinson’s wonderfully quirky illustrations make the Branestawm books stand out.

Professor Balthazar, the main character in an animated Eastern European TV series from the 1960s. I remember watching this as kid and loving it (have written about it here before, too). The range of totally crazy creations you can come up with from a single drop of red liquid in a test tube is amazing!

Professor Calculus, of Tintin fame. Must not forget him. He did, after all design that moon rocket, and the funny pendulum he wanders about with always intrigued me.

There’s a bit of varied inspiration (different media, as well). Since writing the first Kompressor book I have enjoyed exploring the issue a bit deeper. This has led to the discovery of some real gems. For example;

Professor Bullfinch, or rather Danny Dunn, the inventive boy that lives with him. A clever boy that takes liberties with the Professor’s inventions… what could possibly go wrong? These out-of-print books are seriously worth looking out for. The overlap with the science I decided to explore is remarkable as well – time travel, anti gravity, invisibility and so on. Makes me feel like a cheap copy…

Alvin Fernald, another inventing boy that comes up with mechanical contraptions to solve all sorts of problems, from a morning waker-upper to a spring loaded paper deliverer. Great fun!

The list would not be in any sense complete without a mention of the more contemporary;

Doctor Proctor, with his ridiculous fart powder and time travelling bathtub. Surprising side project for an author famous for more violent adult fiction.

Finally, from the science point of view, this kind of list would not be complete without;

Uncle Albert, who explores Einstein’s theories of the Universe together with his niece Gedanken (get it?). Russell Stannard set the standard for semi-fictional science writing for kids, no doubt about it. And the standard is very high.

George, the main character in the books by Lucy and Stephen Hawking, and his explorations of the Universe from black holes to the Big Bang. With a very real connection to what is actually going on today, these carefully researched books are a must-have for any budding scientist.

That’s all I can think of, at least right now. I suspect there is more – much more – and I am looking forward to finding out. (Suggestions on a Stamped Addressed Elephant most welcome.)