We imagine that on May 16th, 1960, when the first laser was fired, no-one involved was particularly concerned with the invention's impact upon pop culture. After all, proving Albert Einstein's 1917 theory about amplifying light by the stimulated emission of radiation was probably seen as a bigger deal back then. In the decade that followed, the technology was used to verify the veracity of the moon landings, remove a tumor from someone's eye and threaten the survival of James Bond's "gentleman's area" for ever.