Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

The Post-WWII Planes of the Future Had Legroom to Spare

It looks like American Airlines will soon be cramming even more seats into their already over-crowded planes. If this is the future, then where’s my legroom? Last week we looked at promises for futuristic homes during World War II and the attempt to dial back expectations for these “miracle houses” by the end of the…

Tech News Matt Novak

Accenture Dreamed Up Google Glass a Decade Ago

Back in 2002, Accenture produced a series of internal concept videos to show off what futuristic tech was coming down the pike. One of those videos has a gadget that looks awfully familiar to those of us living here in the Age of Google Glass™. It’s described as a “wearable services platform,” and Accenture imagines…

Tech News Matt Novak

19 Amazing Time Capsules Still Underground (And What’s Inside Them)

I love time capsules. But more often than not, they’re extremely boring. Most American time capsules from the 19th and 20th centuries contain a Bible, some stamps, a few coins and plenty of newspapers. Some throw in an American flag for good measure. But every once in a while there’s something fascinating inside — something…

Tech News Matt Novak

How the Automobile Became a Suicide Machine

New technologies can offer fantastic opportunities for humanity. They can help us become more mobile, more connected, and more safe from life’s everyday dangers. But along with all of the benefits, technology often also provides new, more accessible ways for us to off ourselves. And in the 1920s, the automobile offered that in spades. The…

Tech News Matt Novak

A Brief History of Tomorrow’s High-Tech Living Room

Today companies like Microsoft and Sony aren’t just trying to sell you the video game console of the future, they’re trying to sell you the living room of the future, a central hub that connects you to your family and your family to the world. But our expectations for what tech should be included in…

Tech News Matt Novak

The Privacy Dangers of a Cashless Society Were Clear Over 40 Years Ago

Your bank and credit card companies have quite a file on you. They know how often you go out to eat, how often you drink, how often you fill up your gas tank, along with the time and location of all these activities. Cash is all but dead, and with that comes a digital trail…

Privacy & Security Matt Novak

An Early Online Privacy Expert Revisits His 1985 Predictions Today

Back in 1985, Larry Hunter was a grad student studying artificial intelligence at Yale. He had access to the kinds of computers and networking tools that few Americans even knew existed at the time. And for that reason, he saw into the future. Specifically, the future of online privacy. So how did his predictions hold…

Privacy & Security Matt Novak

What Futuristic Promise Are You Most Skeptical About?

Within the past decade we’ve seen technologies that had been promised for years finally become mainstream successes. The smartphone? Yep! The tablet computer? You betcha! Ebooks? They now account for nearly a quarter of book sales. But we’re still waiting on plenty of other technologies that were dreamed up by the generations that preceded us.…

Tech News Matt Novak

The Dust Bowl Skyscrapers That Were Supposed to Make It Rain

The Dust Bowl of the 1930s was vicious. Crops were ravaged, dust clouds darkened the sky, and thousands fled the Great Plains to look for work elsewhere. But one meteorologist in France had an idea that very much appealed to the parched farmers and ranchers of yesteryear — enormous weather-manipulation towers that would dwarf the…

Tech News Matt Novak

This 1950s Futuristic Food Truck Could Bake Bread in Just Nine Seconds

These days you can get just about anything from a food truck: pulled pork waffles, cheeseburger sushi, and even snail lollipops. But how about freshly baked bread, made to order in just nine seconds? That was the vision of a 1956 ad for, of all things, ball bearings. No matter how mundane the product, modern…

Tech News Matt Novak

How the U.S. Government Waged War Against the House of Tomorrow

Americans were promised one thing during World War II: life was going to be amazing in the “world of tomorrow.” But when the war ended many companies, along with the U.S. government, turned back on that promise as quickly as they could. Americans were told that as soon as the war was over, everyone would…

Tech News Matt Novak

There Were Plans for 3D Movies Even Before There Were Talkies

If you think the glasses you have to wear at every 3D movie today are a pain, remember to be grateful that we’re not all stuck with the early 20th century’s version. Back in the 1910s, many people were experimenting with next-big-thing technologies for motion pictures. Much of the promise was in developing synchronized sound,…

Tech News Matt Novak

An Internet Pioneer Foresaw the Tech Bubble’s Filthy Rich Programmers

In 1969, internet pioneer Paul Baran predicted that by the year 2000, computer programmers may very well be the richest people in the world. Remember, this is when Bill Gates was just a 14-year-old nerd in Seattle. The ARPANET had not yet drawn its first breath when Baran wrote his 1969 paper, “On The Impact…

Tech News Matt Novak

Fat-Shaming Eugenicist Will Get His Own Statue in Silicon Valley

Good job internet! Nikola Tesla—a noted promoter of eugenics who hated fat people and once fired one of his secretaries for being overweight—will soon have his very own statue in Silicon Valley! The Tesla statue’s Kickstarter campaign surpassed its goal of $123,000 over the weekend, riding the wave of Tesla boosterism that has helped add…

Tech News Matt Novak

How the 1920s Thought Electricity Would Transform Farms Forever

The ’20s may have been roaring for well-heeled urban centers, but on the farm? Rural electricity in the 1920s was as rare as Google Fiber is today. Which makes these 1922 predictions for the farm of the future so brazen. Last week, you may have seen this awesome 1921 map from the Star Tribune archives.…

Tech News Matt Novak

The 1960s Office Desk of the Future Was More NASA Than Mad Men

With its hovering videophone, modern dictation machine and space pod design, this 1961 executive desk of tomorrow would fit in better on the ISS than at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. The February 5, 1961 edition of Arthur Radebaugh‘s “Closer Than We Think” gave millions of people reading the Sunday comics a peek at the office…

Tech News Matt Novak

The Father of Radio’s Stunningly Accurate 1960 Vision of the Year 2000

Flat-screen TVs, online shopping and men on the moon? These were all sci-fi fantasies in 1960. Somehow, though, inventor Lee DeForest predicted that by the year 2000 they would all become a reality. Turns out you don’t necessarily need a crystal ball to see into the future. The Father of Radio The January 17, 1960…

Tech News Matt Novak

What Will Happen When Your Driverless Car Crashes?

Driverless cars are nearly here, at least if Google has its way. But what happens when we’re all zipping around, hands-and-feet free, nary a care in the world, and BAM! we’re in a terrible accident? Who’s responsible? And perhaps more importantly, will we make any attempts to stop it? When something goes awry and it…

Tech News Matt Novak

How Yesterday’s Feminists Invented the Food of the Future

These days, foodie messiahs like Mark Bittman and Michael Pollan preach the gospel of whole foods and get quite a lot of ink and airtime for their ideas about a more healthy way of eating. But the most progressive idea in food from a hundred years ago would likely shock the slow fooders of today:…

Tech News Matt Novak

The Retrofuture of Outdoor Advertising Was Even Worse Than What We Got

Outdoor advertising is at least 5,000 years old (the ancient Egyptians used to hang papyrus notices advertising rewards for runaway slaves), and fears about how invasive it could be have been around nearly as long. For every glitzy video billboard you curse at today, know that your forbearers dreamed up much, much worse. Drive through…

Tech News Matt Novak

Matt Novak

The Post-WWII Planes of the Future Had Legroom to Spare

Accenture Dreamed Up Google Glass a Decade Ago

19 Amazing Time Capsules Still Underground (And What’s Inside Them)

How the Automobile Became a Suicide Machine

A Brief History of Tomorrow’s High-Tech Living Room

The Privacy Dangers of a Cashless Society Were Clear Over 40 Years Ago

An Early Online Privacy Expert Revisits His 1985 Predictions Today

What Futuristic Promise Are You Most Skeptical About?

The Dust Bowl Skyscrapers That Were Supposed to Make It Rain

This 1950s Futuristic Food Truck Could Bake Bread in Just Nine Seconds

How the U.S. Government Waged War Against the House of Tomorrow

There Were Plans for 3D Movies Even Before There Were Talkies

An Internet Pioneer Foresaw the Tech Bubble’s Filthy Rich Programmers

Fat-Shaming Eugenicist Will Get His Own Statue in Silicon Valley

How the 1920s Thought Electricity Would Transform Farms Forever

The 1960s Office Desk of the Future Was More NASA Than Mad Men

The Father of Radio’s Stunningly Accurate 1960 Vision of the Year 2000

What Will Happen When Your Driverless Car Crashes?

How Yesterday’s Feminists Invented the Food of the Future

The Retrofuture of Outdoor Advertising Was Even Worse Than What We Got

School Forced to Replace Toilets After Kids Flush Vapes

‘Scream 7’ Just Won’t Stop Making Money as ‘Scream 8’ Gets Started

The Curtain Has Closed on Meta’s Movie Rating-Inspired Content Filters

Good News! You Can Finally Change That Ridiculous Gmail Address

ExpressVPN Just Launched ExpressAI: Your Prompts Are Now Invisible

VR Just Took Another Massive Body Blow

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

‘Supergirl’ Will Feature David Corenswet’s Superman in a Sort of Big Brother Role

Report: FDA Set to Unban RFK Jr.’s Favorite Peptides

Source Code for Anthropic’s Claude Code Leaks at the Exact Wrong Time

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset