Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

Americans Journey Into Space at the 1964 New York World’s Fair

The Official Souvenir Book of the 1964 New York World’s Fair includes some gorgeous illustrations of futuristic space exploration. The Fair had phenomenal exhibits showcasing the American push into space, but if you’re wondering what the Soviets put on display for 1964 — smack in the middle of the space race — you’ll be disappointed…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 16 '11

David Byrne’s 1987 Predictions for the Computers of 2007

The January, 1987 issue of OMNI Magazine included a cover story titled, “14 Great Minds Predict the Future.” OMNI asked influential people from a variety of fields what was in store for humanity in the year 2007, twenty years into the future. There were predictions about everything from peace in the Middle East to 3D…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 12 '11

Futuristic Fliers for the Army (1958)

Who needs an army of robotic killing machines when you’ve got planes that look so darn intimidating and futuristic? According to this blurb in the March 29, 1958 Miami News, scaring the enemy to death was a possibility with a platton of these “fantastic fliers.” PHILADELPHIA, March 29 — If the U.S. Army of the…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 10 '11

Waiter, there’s a fly in my mealworms… (1978)

It’s no secret that I love food. The first issue of Paleofuture Magazine and the first episode of paleofuture.tv are certainly a testament to that. And some might even consider me an adventurous eater. I recently tried cow brain for the first time and will occassionally indulge (much to the disgust of coworkers) in a…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 9 '11

Our Drunken Videophonic Future (1943)

The 2002 Taschen book Future Perfect is kind of like a dead-tree Tumblr; no credits for illustrators, no dates, and no context. I even tried to reblog a page from the book by nailing it to a tree, but my neighbors tore it down. What a bunch of jerks. With a little old fashioned detective…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 7 '11

Dear People of the Year 2076 (1976)

The 1970s was a tough decade for America. As we saw in the second episode of paleofuture.tv, many people were predicting apocalypse. But in 1976, it seems Americans were determined to hold their heads up high and celebrate 200 years of a country that was experiencing some major growing pains. If there’s one thing Americans…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 4 '11

Miss Honeywell (1968)

Every new promise of futuristic technology brings with it the hucksters, the swindlers, and the merely confused. In the 1970s the three-wheeled Dale car was supposed to get seventy miles to the gallon, but both the car and its inventor were ultimately revealed to be frauds. In the 1930s American newspapers warned that a robot…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 2 '11

Leisure in 2006 A.D. (1906)

What’s the biggest problem people thought we’d be facing in the 21st century? Mid-air jetpack collisions? Disobedient robot servants? No, the greatest problem of our futuristic world was supposed to be too much leisure time. It was believed that a push-button future of automation would bring about a world of unprecedented convenience and leisure. The…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 27 '11

Jetpack Mailmen (1958)

I had to buy stamps recently. It was the worst. Nothing pushes me into full curmudgeon hack mode quite like standing in line at the post office. We’re talking Andy Rooney/ Dave Barry lovechild super-curmudgeon. And don’t even get me started on FedEx. Standing in line is so 20th century. That being said, there’s something…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 17 '11

Nuclear Winter: Poetry for the Apocalypse (1986)

This past September I was wandering the shelves of a Half Price Books in Austin, TX when I stumbled upon the most peculiar little book. Titled Nuclear Winter, this book from 1986 was aesthetically unimpressive, with its cover design rivaling the very worst masturbatory self-published volumes on Lulu. I instantly thought that the washed out…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 16 '11

First Vision of Tomorrowland (1953)

This concept sketch of the entrance to Disneyland’s Tomorrowland is one of the earliest designs for Tomorrowland known to exist. Made in either 1953 or 1954, it’s not even known what Disney artist sketched this retrofuturistic gem. The image appears in the book The Art of Disneyland by Jeff Kurtti and Bruce Gordon with over…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 15 '11

Garco on Juke Box Jury (1954)

Garco the robot became Garco the music critic for the May 29, 1954 episode of Los Angeles TV’s Juke Box Jury. Hosted by Peter Potter, the show appeared on KNXT (now KCBS) and featured a panel of celebrity judges who would critique the latest music releases. On this particular episode Garco appeared with Ann Robinson,…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 14 '11

A Trip Through Space for Boys and Girls (1954)

While flipping through the 1954 book A Trip Through Space I was struck by one aspect of the interstellar story that I’ve never noticed in a pre-Apollo book… a girl in space! Here at Paleofuture we’ve looked at quite a few books that told children of the 1950s and 60s about the wondrous world of…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 11 '11

The Roads Not Taken

Readers of the Wall Street Journal may have noticed a familiar byline in the May 23rd edition of the newspaper. For their special report on the future of transportation I looked at retrofuturistic visions of how we’d get from Point A to Point B. It was a fun spread to put together and I’m only…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 5 '11

Futuristic Products, After the War (1945)

American companies during World War II often stressed sacrifice in their print advertising. If we can all just be patient, they promised, we’ll have more televisions and personal helicopters and push-button kitchens than you can shake a rocket car at. After the war, the sun will power our homes. After the war, we’ll have plastic…

Tech News Matt Novak May 13 '11

Urban Airport of the Future (1926)

The fine people at Popular Mechanics recently published a book that deserves a prominent place on every retrofuturist’s bookshelf. The Wonderful Future That Never Was by Gregory Benford looks at technological predictions that appeared in the pages of Popular Mechanics from 1903 until 1969. The prediction below was an attempt to address what was seen…

Tech News Matt Novak May 7 '11

Push Button Lunch (1903)

This Professor Jyblitts cartoon from 1903 imagines an “automatic luncheon” similar to the automats that began popping up in the early 20th century. In newspaper articles of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s — not to mention the first issue of Paleofuture Magazine — we’ve seen quite a few interpretations of what efficient food of the…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 29 '11

Government of the Future (1981)

Children of the 1980s were presented with two possible futures for government in the book World of Tomorrow: School, Work and Play. The first scenario is a nightmarish dystopia where governments track their citizens’ every move and computers are curtailing freedoms across the globe. The second possible future is a utopia nearly achieving some form…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 26 '11

Fast Mail of To-morrow (1919)

Here at Paleofuture we often take a look at the most fantastical visions of the future: jetpacks, flying cars, meal pills, robot gigolos… More rarely do we look at understated depictions of the future in history, simply because they tend to appear quite ordinary to modern eyes. This illustration by Harry Grant Dart — a…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 23 '11

Talking of Tomorrow (1962)

Talking of Tomorrow is a short animated film that was produced for Bell Labs and released in either 1960 or 1962. Directed by Jetsons writer Chuck Couch, the film tells the story of a business executive from the future who works for an “interspace engineering company.” This executive works in a soundproof room attached to…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 18 '11

Matt Novak

Americans Journey Into Space at the 1964 New York World’s Fair

David Byrne’s 1987 Predictions for the Computers of 2007

Futuristic Fliers for the Army (1958)

Waiter, there’s a fly in my mealworms… (1978)

Our Drunken Videophonic Future (1943)

Dear People of the Year 2076 (1976)

Miss Honeywell (1968)

Leisure in 2006 A.D. (1906)

Jetpack Mailmen (1958)

Nuclear Winter: Poetry for the Apocalypse (1986)

First Vision of Tomorrowland (1953)

Garco on Juke Box Jury (1954)

A Trip Through Space for Boys and Girls (1954)

The Roads Not Taken

Futuristic Products, After the War (1945)

Urban Airport of the Future (1926)

Push Button Lunch (1903)

Government of the Future (1981)

Fast Mail of To-morrow (1919)

Talking of Tomorrow (1962)

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