You think that truth-seeking lasso was a coincidence? A psychologist who invented the lie detector also invented Wonder Woman.

By SUSAN KARLIN

06.17.16 7:30 AM

Original Article Published on Fastcocreate.com

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 2016

It took a Harvard-trained scientist to create the first female superhero, who turns 75 this year.

William Moulton Marston—an attorney and psychologist who invented a systolic blood pressure deception test, the precursor to the modern polygraph—created Wonder Woman as a new type of superhero who, beyond her strength, used wisdom and compassion as weapons against evil—not to mention a magic golden lasso to compel people to tell the truth.

“Marston recognized not only the thereto untapped commercial market for a strong female superhero, but also the powerful potential for comic books to educate and inspire. He understood that education and entertainment need not be mutually exclusive,” says Vasilis Pozios, a forensic psychiatrist who cofounded Broadcast Thought, which uses media and comic convention panels to educate about mental illness, and author of Aura, an award-winning comic about bipolar disorder.

“Of course, Marston’s lie detector test lives on as Wonder Women’s golden Lasso of Truth, proving the enduring power of story to transcend technology and inspire three-quarters of a century later,” he adds.