Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

Recapping “The Jetsons”: Episode 01 – Rosey the Robot

This is the first in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. Episode 01: “Rosey the Robot,” originally aired: September 23, 1962 If you flipped through the Cedar Rapids Gazette on September 23, 1962 the news looked fairly typical for the early 1960s. There was…

Tech News Matt Novak Sep 24 '12

Parade Magazine Asks American Women About The Sexiest Professions of 1962

NASA astronauts in July of 1962 (source: NASA) In 1962 Parade magazine surveyed American women about the sexiest profession for American men. Here at the dawn of the space age, they were shocked astronauts weren’t ranked number one, concluding “Astronauts are great for history, but not for current affairs…” Doctors were ranked the sexiest and…

Tech News Matt Novak Sep 23 '12

Trains of Tomorrow, After the War

American advertisers made a great number of promises for the future during World War II. The American people were told that if they could just be patient with wartime rationing, or the number of resources being devoted to the war effort, we would all be assured better lives after the war. https://gizmodo.com/today-at-war-tomorrow-in-stores-512620266 The Association of…

Tech News Matt Novak Sep 21 '12

50 Years of the Jetsons: Why The Show Still Matters

It was 50 years ago this coming Sunday that the Jetson family first jetpacked their way into American homes. The show lasted just one season (24 episodes) after its debut on Sunday September 23, 1962, but today “The Jetsons” stands as the single most important piece of 20th century futurism. More episodes were later produced…

Tech News Matt Novak Sep 19 '12

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 Sep 10 '12

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 Sep 6 '12

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 Sep 5 '12

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 Aug 31 '12

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 Aug 22 '12

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 Aug 20 '12

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 Aug 17 '12

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 Aug 15 '12

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 Aug 12 '12

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 Aug 8 '12

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 Jul 31 '12

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 Jul 30 '12

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 Jul 23 '12

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 Jul 19 '12

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 Jul 13 '12

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 Jul 9 '12

Matt Novak

Recapping “The Jetsons”: Episode 01 – Rosey the Robot

Parade Magazine Asks American Women About The Sexiest Professions of 1962

Trains of Tomorrow, After the War

50 Years of the Jetsons: Why The Show Still Matters

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

Nothing’s New Wireless Headphones Take the ‘Pro’ Label Literally

Trump’s Transportation Dept. Rolls Back Fuel Efficiency Standards Despite Surging Gas Prices

OpenAI Cancels Release of GPT-6.1 Astra Because It ‘Regressed’ on Safety

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ May Be Re-Released With New Footage

Anthropic Releases Its Second New AI Model in Less Than a Week

Not Even $10,000 Could Convince These Locals To Stop Protesting a Data Center Project

Federal Judge Blocks Utah’s VPN Crackdown

Meta Goes All-In On AI for Businesses Before Muse Goes Horribly Wrong

Matt Groening Says ‘Futurama’ Has ‘Lots More Stories to Tell’

Florida Man Wants OpenAI to Stop New Models Until We Figure Out What the Hell Is Going On

Mova LiDAX Pro 800 Review: This Robomower Tried to Mow Me Down

iRobot Roomba Max 775 Review: A Respectable Roomba Redux

Sonos Ace Ultra Review: Headphones That Only Hardcore Sonos Fans Could Love

M6 Mac mini Review: A Better Tiny Desktop, With or Without AI

Aqara Multi-Sensor FP400 Review: Not Quite the mmWave of the Future

Alienware’s AW3926QW Ultrawide Gaming Monitor Review: Size Really Does Matter

iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max Review: Apple Is Just Flexing Hard Now

AirPods 5 Review: A Ridiculously Great Value for ANC Wireless Earbuds

Steam Frame Review: Valve Shows Us VR Was Always Meant to Be a Toy

Maingear Zero (2026) Review: PC Gaming Bliss With a Price Tag to Make You Cry