I first learned about it in the 1980s, in an issue of Popular Science. Ahh, this 1984 issue of PopSci - https://archive.org/details/popular-science-1984-no.-1/mode/... .

Ohh, a year previous PopSci talked about using the Magnus effect for wind turbine blades. https://archive.org/details/popular-science-1983-no.-8/mode/...

In any case, it's another gadget which "seems to have durable appeal to entrepreneurs and/or suckers."