I find the place that the lie detector has aquired in American popular culture to be fascinating. Currently on eBay, a 1957 comic book featuring Batman strapped to a lie detector is on auction (Detective Comics #240, eBay item #655462336 (http://cgi.ebay.com/DETECTIVE-COMICS-240-BATMAN-OUTLAW-BATMAN-LIE-DETECTOR_W0QQitemZ6554623336QQcategoryZ68QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)). Bidding starts at $79.99, which is a bit rich for my blood. But for the benefit of all, here is the cover drawing:
(http://antipolygraph.org/graphics/batman-comic-book-cover.jpg)