Whatever you think about James Bond's gadgets, it's hard to imagine the spy without them. Ever since he debuted in the pages of Ian Fleming's "Casino Royale" back in 1953 — a book that received some truly weird changes upon its U.S. debut — England's greatest spy has been making use of gizmos provided by Q-branch. It wasn't until the films began with 1962's "Dr. No," however, that James Bond's gadgets began to take on their legendary cultural status. While "Dr. No" didn't feature much in the way of spy gadgets beyond Bond's standard Walther Ppk, the follow-up "From Russia with Love" introduced Desmond Llewelyn's Q and his department of genius tinkerers who supply 007 with all manner of covert instrument.

In the years since, Bond gadgets have run the gamut from ingenious to downright ridiculous. Much like the franchise to which they belong, the gadgets have been both believable (Gps...