Sent his book to Mars and predicted future inventions: 5 interesting facts about Ray Bradbury. Photo and video

In the early 1950s, the unknown American science fiction writer Ray Bradbury rented a tiny apartment in Venice, Florida. He kept the windows open all the time. Why? The man lived too poorly to afford a telephone. So he gave out the number of a phone booth at the nearest gas station to publishers. When he heard the phone ringing, he would jump up, run across the street, and grab it... That's how Bradbury arranged for books or stories to be published and the whole world learned about the writer who was crazy about space and hated the rapid development of technology.

Ray Bradbury worked until his last breath (he died at the age of 91). During this time, he published more than 800 short stories, novels, poems, essays, plays for theater and radio, and film and television scripts. In particular, the series of short stories Martian Chronicles, the dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, as well as the novels Dandelion Wine and Something Wicked This Way Comes. To mark the 12th anniversary of the writer's death, OBOZ.UA has collected the most interesting facts about him.

1. He chose writing as a way to "eternal life"

At the age of 12, Ray Bradbury attended a children's carnival. There, a "wizard" named Electrico came up to him, touched his nose with an electrified sword, and the boy's hair stood on end. The artist stretched his arms up and shouted, "Live forever!"

Years later, Bradbury said that was when his passion for writing was born, "I thought it was the best idea I'd ever heard... That day, I went to the carousel, watched the horses run by to the music of Beautiful Ohio, and I cried. The tears flowed because I knew that something important had happened to me that day because of Mr. Electrico. I felt that I had changed. And so, when I returned home, in a few days I started writing short stories. Isn't that amazing?"

At a young age, Ray Bradbury decided that thanks to the people who would read his books, he would "live forever", he would leave his thoughts, dreams, and warnings on the pages. And he was right!

2. He found the love of his life in a bookstore

Summer of 1946. There was a series of book thefts at the Fowler Brothers bookstore, LA. So, the saleswoman Margaret McClure (Maggie) was keeping a close eye on all the customers during her shift. Suddenly, she noticed a man in a long dark raincoat with deep pockets and a briefcase. It was a hot day, so Maggie was sure it was another thief... The woman approached him and asked him, rather hostilely, if she could help him. It turned out that the stranger (26-year-old Ray Bradbury) was looking for a new anthology that published one of his stories. The two pludged into a vivid conversation and had a cup of coffee.

A few days later, Ray returned to the bookstore and asked Maggie out... A year later, he proposed to his beloved, asking her if she would go with him on a trip to the Moon and Mars. The woman could not refuse the dreamer. The couple had a modest wedding and later gave birth to four daughters.

At the beginning of his career, Bradbury's works did not bring a steady income, so his wife was the main breadwinner for the family. Everything changed after the publication of the novel Fahrenheit 451. The writer's talent was appreciated in different parts of the world. After that, the family moved to a large private house. The happy marriage lasted 57 years until Margaret died of progressive lung cancer. Ray outlived his beloved by 9 years.

3. His fantasies came true

Ray Bradbury is not only a novelist but also a "clairvoyant" with a powerful imagination. In his essay Beyond 1984: The People Machines, he wrote, "People ask me to predict the future, but I only want to prevent it." The fact is that the writer, to put it mildly, was not a fan of the rapid development of technology. He realized that it could have negative consequences... For example, he said that people would suffer from loneliness because of excessive attention to screens. Even if they have loved ones, their children, or friends nearby. Sometimes the author ironizes this problem: in his story The Pedestrian, the main character Leonard Mead was arrested for a simple walk in the city and the absence of a TV.

Bradbury, unbeknownst to him, predicted the invention of Bluetooth headsets and headphones (Fahrenheit 451), large flat-screen TVs that occupy an entire wall (The Veldt), self-driving cars (The Pedestrian), smartwatches (The Murderer), augmented reality AR (The Veldt), and a smart home system (There Will Come Soft Rains)... And this is just a small part of the predictions.

4. A lunar crater and an asteroid were named in his honor

Bradbury was obsessed with space exploration. All because of his love of science fiction. This inspired him to write the short story series The Martian Chronicles, R Is for Rocket, and other stories about aliens, space colonization, and extraterrestrial intelligence...

Among the readers of these books were scientists! In 1992, one of them named the main belt asteroid 9766 Bradbury as a sign of gratitude. And in 1957, the crew of the Apollo 15 spacecraft named the impact crater on the Moon Dandelion in honor of the book Dandelion Wine. NASA employees did not forget about Ray Bradbury. In 2008, they sent a digitized copy of The Martian Chronicles to Mars aboard the NASA Phoenix Mars Lander, and a few months after the writer's death, the place where the Curiosity robotic rover landed was named Bradbury landing.

5. He loved collecting toys

Every year for Christmas, the famous writer received toy robots, blasters, giant stuffed animals, dinosaur figures, and others from his wife, daughters, and friends. It is known that the film director Alfred Hitchcock gave him a head floating in a glass jar (creepy, but it was his style). And the animation artist and film director Walt Disney brought figures of the iconic Mickey Mouse.

The writer kept all these gifts in his office, along with books, whimsical paintings, television props, and souvenirs from his travels. Visually, it seemed to be a complete chaos and, as Bradbury's granddaughter said, "a riot of activity." However, such an environment helped him think outside the box and create new futuristic stories.

Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber.Do not fall for fakes!