Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

The Anti-Skyscraper Law That Shaped Sydney, Australia

When we look at visions of the future from the 20th century we often imagine the lone inventor or solitary artist concocting the fantastical world of tomorrow in isolation. But it’s amazing how frequently both government regulation and the lack of regulation can influence the future of a given city in ways we don’t often…

Tech News Matt Novak

Big Apple Apocalypse: 200 Years of Destroying New York City

Futurist thinkers have rarely been kind to New York City. In fact, writers and artists have spent the better part of two centuries destroying the Big Apple. Whether by flood or fire, nuclear explosion or alien invasion, New York more than any other city bears the brunt of our most apocalyptic futures. And perhaps no…

Tech News Matt Novak

Futurist fixes for fighting skyscraper fires

“The tallest building in the world is on fire. You are there with 294 other guests. There’s no way down. There’s no way out.” So read the poster for the 1974 disaster movie Towering Inferno, which depicts an epic tale of survival in the badly wired 138 story Glass Tower in San Francisco and the…

Tech News Matt Novak

My Robot Helper of Tomorrow

When I was a kid growing up in the late 1980s and early ’90s there were only two things that I was certain of when it came to my future: I was going to grow up to be an animator for Disney, and I was going to have a robot. Sadly, my drawing skills peaked…

Tech News Matt Novak

The Robot Hall of Fame: Vote Rosey 2012

Americans are gearing up for the presidential election this coming November, but many people are sadly unaware of an even more important vote taking place right now: 2012 inductees to the Robot Hall of Fame. For the first time since its founding in 2003, Carnegie Mellon University’s Robot Hall of Fame is allowing the public…

Tech News Matt Novak

Crowdfunding a Museum for Alexander Graham Bell in 1922

Crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo are great for bands trying to finance an album or independent filmmakers hoping to shoot a movie. But it’s interesting to see these alternative finance tools being used more and more for projects that are often associated with large public institutions — namely, monuments and museums. Last year, a…

Tech News Matt Novak

The Future of Mars, 40 Years Ago

I’m in Gentry Lee’s office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California for less than 30 seconds before he jumps to his whiteboard to explain to me why people care about Mars. “Let’s not beat around the bush,” Lee says, “the reason Mars is fascinating and the reason that we went to explore Mars…

Tech News Matt Novak

Yesterday’s Tomorrows: How a Smithsonian Exhibit I Never Saw Changed My Life

Twenty-eight years ago this month an exhibit called Yesterday’s Tomorrows opened to the public at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. I wasn’t even a year old yet, but this 1984 exhibit would have a profound effect on my life many years later after I discovered the exhibit book by Smithsonian curators…

Tech News Matt Novak

Meal-in-a-pill: A Staple of Science Fiction

It is a constant theme of early science fiction, and one you are almost certainly familiar with: the man or woman of the future pops a pill on to their tongue, knocks it back and is almost immediately satisfied. For inside the little white capsule was a full three course meal, designed to mimic the…

Tech News Matt Novak

Synthetic Food, Smart Pills and… Kangaroo Butlers?

According to Athelstan Spilhaus, writing the comic strip “Our New Age” was his way of slipping a little subliminal education into the Sunday funnies. Each week the strip took a different topic—such as ocean currents or heredity or the moons of Mars—and explained in a very straightforward way just what made that area of scientific…

Tech News Matt Novak

Hello Mars — This is the Earth!

Yesterday, we looked at Wernher von Braun’s 1954 vision for a manned mission to Mars. But long before people imagined how we might plausibly put boots on Martian soil, we dreamed how one day we might be able to communicate with the planet. Thanks to “canals” spotted on Mars in the late 19th century, there…

Tech News Matt Novak

Wernher von Braun’s Martian Chronicles

Assuming everything goes according to plan, NASA’s Curiosity rover will touch down on the surface of Mars this Sunday, August 5th at 10:31 PDT. Curiosity travels in the cosmic wake of not only the pioneering landers and rovers that have made journeys to Mars before, but also the innumerable visionaries who showed us how we…

Tech News Matt Novak

Worldwide Economic Collapse: Orson Scott Card’s Predictions for 2012

In 1985, author Orson Scott Card made a name for himself with the publication of his now-classic science fiction novel Ender’s Game. His book would go on to win the 1985 Nebula Award for best novel, the 1986 Hugo Award for best novel and would become required reading around the world (I remember reading it…

Tech News Matt Novak

1927 Magazine Looks at Metropolis, “A Movie Based On Science”

Last week Geeta Dayal over at Wired published portions of a very cool 32-page program for the 1927 futuristic film Metropolis. The program is for sale at a rare book shop in London and seeing the blog post reminded me of an article in one of my magazines from 1927. It took me a little…

Tech News Matt Novak

What Happened to Hilton’s ‘Hotel on the Moon’?

In 1958 the Boulevard Room at the swanky Conrad Hilton Hotel in downtown Chicago offered delicious steaks, a lavish stage show, and a curious peek at the future. At the front of the grand hall was what was billed as the “largest hotel ice rink in the country,” on which troops of tutu-wearing girls danced…

Tech News Matt Novak

1954 Flying Car for Sale

Ever dreamed of owning your own flying car… from the 1950s? If you happen to have $1.25 million lying around, you can make that happen! It seems every year we see companies like Terrafugia and Moller promise that the flying car will soon be an everyday reality. But people often forget flying cars have been…

Tech News Matt Novak

1931’s Remote-Controlled Farm of the Future

The March 1931 issue of The Country Gentleman magazine included this advertisement for Timken bearings. With the bold headline “100 YEARS AHEAD” the ad promises that the farmer of the future may be unrecognizable — thanks to Timken bearings, of course. Our farmer of tomorrow wears a suit to work and sits at a desk…

Tech News Matt Novak

1987 Predictions From Bill Gates: “Siri, Show Me Da Vinci Stuff”

In 1987, Bill Gates became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, making the Forbes 400 Richest People in America list with a net worth of $1.25 billion, up from a measly $900 million the year before. Gates was just 32 years old and Microsoft Windows was still very much in its infancy, the operating system having…

Tech News Matt Novak

Surgery, Security and Sales: The Future of Closed-Circuit Television

It’s hard to imagine a world before the ubiquitous security camera. In major cities around the world, it’s just expected that we’re all being photographed maybe dozens of times a day. The CCTV camera has permeated popular culture and is an icon frequently used by artists who are concerned with the rise of the surveillance…

Tech News Matt Novak

Live the Language

Collaborating with director Gustav Johansson, EF International has been promoting international study abroad programs with a charming series of videos. Shot by Niklas Johansson and accented with Albin Holmqvist’s overlaying typography, each video is a poignant summation of various cultural capitals, ranging from Barcelona to Sydney, from London to Los Angeles. Check out the full…

Tech News Matt Novak

Matt Novak

The Anti-Skyscraper Law That Shaped Sydney, Australia

Big Apple Apocalypse: 200 Years of Destroying New York City

Futurist fixes for fighting skyscraper fires

My Robot Helper of Tomorrow

The Robot Hall of Fame: Vote Rosey 2012

Crowdfunding a Museum for Alexander Graham Bell in 1922

The Future of Mars, 40 Years Ago

Yesterday’s Tomorrows: How a Smithsonian Exhibit I Never Saw Changed My Life

Meal-in-a-pill: A Staple of Science Fiction

Synthetic Food, Smart Pills and… Kangaroo Butlers?

Hello Mars — This is the Earth!

Wernher von Braun’s Martian Chronicles

Worldwide Economic Collapse: Orson Scott Card’s Predictions for 2012

1927 Magazine Looks at Metropolis, “A Movie Based On Science”

What Happened to Hilton’s ‘Hotel on the Moon’?

1954 Flying Car for Sale

1931’s Remote-Controlled Farm of the Future

1987 Predictions From Bill Gates: “Siri, Show Me Da Vinci Stuff”

Surgery, Security and Sales: The Future of Closed-Circuit Television

Live the Language

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

SpaceX Starlink Satellite Malfunctions, Breaks Apart in Orbit

‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Stinks

‘Scream 4’ Is Back, and on Tape

Iran Threatens to Attack U.S. Tech Companies Starting April 1

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