A rendering that depicts the future city of Liverpool.
By Rebecca Hiscott2014-03-19 10:06:59 UTC
Our visions of the future have always been more complex than hoverboards and self-lacing sneakers.
Sure, there were the various tropes from many bad sci-fi movies (and a few good ones), such as food in pill form, flying cars, personal jetpacks and robot butlers. But futurists also envisioned brave new worlds that have since been entirely forgotten the death of the letters C, X and Q, for example, not to mention the use of discarded underwear to manufacture candy (ew).
We doff our caps to Paleofuture for making these future-happy predictions from years hence so easily available. Below, we've resuscitated a few of our favorites, which have yet to come true.
"These prophecies will seem strange, almost impossible," begins a 1900 article in Ladies' Home Journal. "Yet they have come from the most conservative and learned minds in America."
These "learned minds" suggested that by the year 2000, certain letters of the alphabet would simply vanish: "There will be no C, X or Q in our every-day alphabet. They will be abandoned because unnecessary. Spelling by sound will have been adopted, first by the newspapers. English will be a language of condensed words expressing condensed ideas, and will be more extensively spoken than any other. Russian will be second."
In this French caricature called "Voyage a la lune" ("Journey to the moon"), a man rides a bicycle-like flying machine while looking through a telescope.
In 1909, Jules Bois, alternately referred to by The New York Times as a "mystic," a "litterateur" and a "Frenchman," rightly predicted that the era's ideal of feminine beauty would be overturned: "Physical weakness, extreme delicacy of physiognomy and acquiescence in a mere secondary position in the social organization will have given place to a type in which beauty and muscular development will be combined." (See: fitspo.)
Read the rest here:
8 Bizarre Futurist Predictions That Never Came True
- Futurist Ray Kurzweil on Melding Man and Machine - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Patrick Dixon, Futurist, Global Change - "Sustainagility" Keynote at Zermatt Summit 2012 - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- C2CAM - Futurist Forecasts - (Coast To Coast AM) - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Keynote presentation: future of media [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- 212 (Futurist Bootleg Remix) - Azealia Banks [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Jacque Fresco - Designing the Future - Futurists Summit (2008) - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- From Ego to Eco: Futurist and Keynote Speaker Gerd Leonhard at EcoSummit 2012 - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- futurist - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Futurist Ray Kurzweil - Suzanne Somers Breaking Through - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- THE FUTURIST - Glen Hiemstra - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Futurist-Author James Howard Kunstler - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- The Zeitgeist Movement - Futurists, Technology and Cultural Lag - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Big Thinkers - Alvin Toffler [Futurist] - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Futurist, Edie Weiner opens the NACD 2011 Board Leadership Conference - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Monetizing Digital Content - Futurist [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Futurist Conversations: The Future of Money - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- The Consumer of Tomorrow Futurist Gerd Leonhard at Google Australia "ThinkTravel" event - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Aubrey de Grey, interview with The Futurist, July 10, 2011 - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Futurist Gerd Leonhard: Consumer Empowerment in the Networked Society (Keynote at CI Congress 2011) - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- The Future of Media (Futurist Gerd Leonhard at Media Future Week in Almere, NL) - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Is it a bird, is it a phone, no it’s... Smarterman [Last Updated On: September 9th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 9th, 2012]
- These 9 startups belong in a futurist’s guide to health technology (infographic) [Last Updated On: September 18th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 18th, 2012]
- Impatient Futurist: Rise of the (Friendly) Drones | DISCOVER Magazine [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Futurist Stewart Brand Wants to Revive Extinct Species [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Ford futurist: ‘Imagine a future that is unimaginable' [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Ford futurist: [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- DESIGN East: Futurist tells engineers to embrace change [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Miguel parties with panache in 'The Thrill' video [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- A Quick Primer On Futurist-Level Foresight [Last Updated On: October 8th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 8th, 2012]
- Healthcare Futurist and Keynote Speaker Jack Uldrich Joins Jim Collins & Commander Mark Kelly at the American Health ... [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2012]
- Futurist Ray Kurzweil's new book predicts development of a super 'digital brain' [Last Updated On: October 16th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 16th, 2012]
- Futurist's Cheat Sheet: Artificial Intelligence [Last Updated On: October 16th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 16th, 2012]
- Ray Kurzweil’s new book predicts development of a super ‘digital brain’ [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2012]
- Energy Futurist Jack Uldrich to Keynote Series of Utility Industry Events [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Norwich University Presents Futurist as First Presenter in Fall Lecture Series [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- ART BELL CLASSIC SHOW Present Trends Leading Towards a Good Future - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- KBIS 2011 Multimedia Lounge: David Houle - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Mina Loy - Wiki Article - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Technology's Long Nose: Dr. Lowell Catlett at TEDxABQ - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- 01 01 2011 Futurist Forecasts - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- The Futurist: Four amazing robotic inventions - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- The Duck - Futurist Beat - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Abstract olympic movement dance backdrop - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Planet X Causing Superstorms, Earthquakes [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- The Effects of Technology - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- How Futurecasting works - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Imagining the Future - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Futurist Forecasts - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Paradise or Oblivion Trailer - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Russian Futurism - Wiki Article - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Matematica - Willpower (original mix) - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Futurist Joel Kotkin targets gulf coast economy that includes Tampa Bay as rising economic powerhouse [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- The Futurist: blasting you into outer space - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- The Intelligence Revolution (2007) - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- The Biotech Revolution (2007) - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- The Quantum Revolution (2007) - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Digilogue for Real Estate Professionals - RP Data Virtual Roadshow - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Kenneth R. Weinstein President of the Hudson Institute - FRANCE 24 [10-29-2012] - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Sensum at Belfast Media Festival 2012 part 2 - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- 97 year old man gets explicit about how fucked up we have made the world. - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Blade Runner 30th Anniversary Blu-Ray - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- From Ego to Eco: Media, Energy, Politics: Intro to 11/5 Sao Paulo Event (Futurist Gerd Leonhard) 2 - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Future of Vietnam -- economy, technology, banking, real estate etc - keynote speaker Patrick Dixon - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- (GD002) Antoni Maiovvi - Prisoner Nightdrive (Mircalla Remix) - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Shell Technology Forums, 12 - 19 October 2012, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Does Privacy Matter? - G Craig Vachon @ TEDxSantaCruz - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- How to Paint Digitally: Livestream 004 - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- How To Paint Digitally: Livestream 003 - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Future Prophecies - Dreadlock (Kura [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Ford Motor Co's Futurist Sheryl Connelly - What Does A Futurist Do In A Car Company? - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Prof. Russolo's 'RussoloVespers' - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Future By Design trailer directed by William Gazecki. - Video [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2012]
- Secrets of Math Key To Higher Dimensions - Video [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2012]
- MERLIN Project, Prophecy [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2012]
- From Ego to Eco: Introduction to Nov 5 2012 Event in Sao Paulo (Futurist Speaker Gerd Leonhard) - Video [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2012]
- Joel Kotkin: The Inevitable Burst of Social Media Bubble - Video [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2012]
- The Dark Side of the Double Helix: Andrew Hessel at TEDx Marin 2012 - Video [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2012]
- Precognition [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2012]
- Ray Kurzweil: AI Could Make a Healthier, Wealthier World - Video [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2012]
- Honey Boo Boo, Jersey Shore, and the Sistine Chapel | Gene Expression [Last Updated On: November 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 5th, 2012]