Nuclear power was all the rage in the fifties. In the following examples, there is no difference in meaning. © Copyright 2020 by Factinate.com. ... but it’s a perfect example of what happens when a nation feels under threat. (Aug. 13, 2012) http://organprint.missouri.edu/www/fibr-pub/mironov03-157.pdf, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In 1932, he stated that “there is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy would ever be attainable. Predictions About the Future Facts 42. 2011. The device is inherently of no value to us.”. But the innovating spirit of the 20th century was sure the design could be improved upon, and Closer Than You Think envisioned the futuristic Sno-Melter that had massive flame-throwers mounted on the front to melt snow with ease. You might think that when the telephone came to be the company would shift its focus. 10 Predictions About the Future That Should Scare the Hell Out of You. Aug.12, 2012. It was 2.94 billion a year earlier. Trends in Biotechnology. For centuries predictions like this have driven humanity’s progress. Here are 30 predictions about the future that may surprise or even shock you—but one thing is certain: They're backed by some pretty smart people. We’ve never quite managed it, but we’re still hopeful. That didn’t happen, but it wasn’t too farfetched. These people looked into the future ... A Short History of the Future, 1936. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Over 5 billion people will use the Internet by 2020. Here are 42 examples of some less than accurate predictions about what the world of tomorrow will be like. Example: The world's population will reach 10 billion in the year 2050. TVs just keep on getting bigger and bigger, but they haven’t quite reached as big as we thought they would. We can always be hopeful, right? No clan is left untouched, and even families that seem happy and normal on…. The early 1980s had a huge video game boom, and people in the industry had very high hopes for where the medium was headed. "Fifty Years Hence." 7. David Rorvik, a journalist and science fiction writer wrote in a 1970 issue of Playboy that transportation would be totally revolutionized by the mid-eighties: People would be getting around in automated cars, super high-speed pneumatic trains, and luxury hovercraft. In 1955, Variety Magazine said this about rock ‘n’ roll: “It will be gone by June.” Maybe they meant June 2055? I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life. Most people haven’t, but they were given a chance to sign the Beatles in the early sixties. You can use will / won't for future predictions. "Bioprinting a Human Being?" Author's Note: 5 Futurist Predictions in the World of Science. 2007. "LILYPAD: Floating City for Climate Change Refugees." So much so that Alexander Lewyt, the head of the Lewyt Vacuum Company, assumed that we would all be using nuclear-powered vacuum cleaners by the mid-‘60s. Stick around long enough and you just may find out. In the following examples, there is no difference in meaning. In fact, he famously predicted in a magazine article that the entire things would “go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse.” Years after this infamous quote, he literally ate his words: On stage in front of an audience, he blended up a copy of the article with water and drank it. Reality? April 14, 2003. 8. Today, both forms of power are widely used. To solve this problem, Closer Than You Think predicted that we would use much smaller, circular runways, where special catapult-like devices would be used to launch planes into the air. Right around the time that Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, most people in the tech world thought that the company was headed for extinction. Houses would be completely autonomous, with no need to be hooked up to power or water, and so they would be free to fly around the earth as the owners saw fit. Hulton Archive / Getty Images Margaret Thatcher, Oct. 26, 1969. (Aug. 13, 2012) http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-future-of-nanotechnology-molecular-manufacturing, The Futurist. "Manufacturing is Returning to America." Whether or not the event will happen is not certain. They predicted pacifying drugs that would make warfare non-violent. Dec. 9, 2011. (Aug. 12, 2012) http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/perspectives/manufacturing-is-returning-to-america-648616/, Wolf, Gary. Just gas the population of wherever you’re invading, and they’ll all be made happy and compliant, allowing you to waltz in with no resistance. A large metal plow mounted on the front of a truck is still the method of choice. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. She will have lots of pets. 1. Here are some excellently satisfying examples of just that: 15 people making spectacular fools of themselves with famous predictions gone superbly wrong. "3-D Printers May Someday Allow Labs to Create Replacement Human Organs." As the Fourth Industrial Revolution forces us to think about where today's innovations are taking us, here are 10 predictions that didn’t stand up to the future’s steely gaze. 3: Products Will be Put Together, Molecule By Molecule. Are they getting closer to reality even as you read this? Nothing says the future like enormous glass domes. He stops conversations dead when someone misquotes a movie or gets a fact wrong. To their credit, Popular Mechanics did predict the trend of computers growing smaller all the way back in 1949. In 1912, he was asked what this new technology would mean for war. Instead, they disappeared almost completely. "When the Machines Take Over." Closer Than You Think, a Futurist comic strip from the late ‘50s and early ‘60s predicted that all suburban houses would sit under enormous transparent domes that would protect them from bad weather, allowing for lush, green lawns and gardens all year round. But instead, in 1876, they said “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. Weird & Wacky, Copyright © 2020 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace Holdings, LLC, a System1 Company. They passed on the band, saying “We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.”. Future predictions are based on your current life situation. Let’s just…, The Truth Always Comes Out: Dark Family Secrets Exposed, Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress, These People Got Revenge In The Most Ingenious Ways, Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s First Wife, 47 Sensual Facts About The Science Of Being Sexy, 38 Courageous Facts About History's Most Impressive Generals. In "prediction" sentences, the subject usually has little control over the future and therefore USES 1-3 do not apply. After the first flight of the Boeing 247, an engineer from the company allegedly predicted that there would never be a larger plane built. Here are 42 examples of some less than accurate predictions about what the world of tomorrow will be like. People crossed the Bering Land Bridge between Russia and Alaska during the last Ice Age, but ever since it’s been covered by miles and miles of ocean. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. We're Getting Closer to the Quantum Internet, But What Is It? At different times, we’ve assumed that the future will have everything from flying firemen to put out fires on skyscrapers, flying mailmen to streamline the service, flying police to better protect, and of course, flying cars to revolutionize transportation. Snow plow technology has advanced really little in half a century. If there’s one thing people have proved time and time again, it’s that we’re not always the best a predicting the future. In 1959, Closer Than You Think predicted that an enormous, underwater highway would be built to cross the distance, allowing Americans to take their cars, rather than plans or ships, to Asia and Europe. There’s no doubt that Thomas Edison shaped the future, but not in as many ways as he hoped.