“Don’t like the idea of being stuck on a boat at sea for weeks on end? Try a cross-country cruise! The cross-country cruise ship has soft “sausage-like” airbag tyres that can handle any terrain. And those weight-spreading wheels have an unexpected benefit if you’re unlucky enough to get run down: “servicemen and women who have tried it say it’s like a nice, beefy massage.”

This “crazy, mixed-up amphibious train” was invented by legendary pulp and sci-fi illustrator Frank Tinsley for Mechanix Illustrated magazine in 1957. But the “saggy bladder” wheel technology is based on William H. Albee’s real-life patented ‘Rolligon’ tyres. Albee had witnessed Eskimos carrying tons of meat across the land on swollen sealskins, and he built a business offering similar solutions to industrial, military, and agricultural customers. Sadly, the tourism industry will have to wait.”