In Chapter 7 of William Pene du Bois's The Twenty-One Balloons, Professor Sherman says something about life on Krakatoa that impresses Mr. F.

In this chapter, Mr. F takes Professor Sherman on a tour of all the houses the citizens of the island have built on Krakatoa and shows him all their inventions. For example, Mr. F takes him to the Moroccan house of Mr. and Mrs. M and shows him the bed with the perpetual sheet that is replaced, washed, and dried all by turning a crank, an invention Mrs. M wanted because, as a nurse, she is sick of making beds. Mr. F also shows Professor Sherman the elevator beds of the family's two children, M-1 and M-2.

The Moroccan house of the M family is also full of mechanic inventions, such as revolving wall panels that "permit a complete change of decor at the press of a button," a dishwashing machine, and a dish-drying machine. Upon seeing all these mechanical inventions, Professor Sherman reflects that mechanical inventions make society too fast-paced and eliminate simple elegance:

It seems strange to me that mechanical progress always seems to leave the slower demands of elegance far behind. With all the peace and spare time on this lovely island, why should any part of your lives be speeded up (p. 110)?

Mr. F is impressed by Professor Sherman's observation and states that many on the island completely agree with him. He further explains that all the artists on the island fully agree with Professor Sherman's remark; it is only the scientists who feel the need to speed their lives up.