Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

Future Classics: Readers of 1936 Predict Which Authors Will Endure

In 1936, a quarterly magazine for book collectors called The Colophon polled its readers to pick the ten authors whose works would be considered classics in the year 2000. Sinclair Lewis, author of the 1935 hit It Can’t Happen Here, was a natural choice for the top spot. Just five years earlier Sinclair had been…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 23 '12

Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 09 – Elroy’s TV Show

This is the ninth in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. When I was a kid I didn’t quite understand how TV and movies were made. Around the age of four or five, I had a basic understanding of how live TV was recorded…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 19 '12

Nikola Tesla the Eugenicist: Eliminating Undesirables by 2100

Interest in the life of legendary inventor Nikola Tesla has seen a tremendous resurgence in the past two decades. And with good reason. The man was a genius who was able to take so many of the ideas swirling around in the 19th century ether and turn them into fantastic new inventions — both real…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 16 '12

Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 08 – Rosey’s Boyfriend

This is the eighth in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. The personal humanoid robotic assistant (or robot maid; robot butler; whatever you’d like to call it) easily makes the short list of retro-futuristic dreams still unfulfilled — up there with the flying car,…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 13 '12

Five Past Visions of Our Political Future

Twentieth-century Americans saw many different predictions for what the world of politics might look like in the 21st century. Some people imagined a world where politics ceased to matter much in daily life. Others saw a world where computers would allow for direct democracy and people voting from their homes. Some people thought that once…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 6 '12

Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 07 – The Flying Suit

This is the seventh in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. The seventh episode of “The Jetsons” premiered on American television November 4, 1962, and was titled “The Flying Suit.” In this episode we’re introduced to Mr. Cogswell (we don’t learn until the 1980s…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 5 '12

Aldous Huxley’s Predictions for 2000 A.D.

There seems to be two occasions when people most enjoy making predictions: anniversaries (think the American Bicentennial, New Year’s, etc) and dates that include round numbers (any year ending in zero). Such was the case in 1950 when many people halfway through the 20th century enjoyed predicting what life would be like in the year…

Tech News Matt Novak Nov 1 '12

Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 06 – The Good Little Scouts

This is the sixth in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. As a child, did you ever think that one day you might be able to vacation on the moon? You weren’t alone. A permanent settlement on the moon wasn’t some crackpot scheme only…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 29 '12

And the Winner Is: 2012 Inductees to the Robot Hall of Fame

The 2012 inductees to the Robot Hall of Fame at Carnegie Mellon have been announced. And sadly, Rosey the robot didn’t make the cut. She was beat out in the entertainment category by WALL-E — a worthwhile choice, but kind of like putting Justin Bieber in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before Screamin’…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 25 '12

Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 05 – Jetson’s Nite Out

This is the fifth in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. The fifth episode of “The Jetsons” aired on Sunday October 21, 1962, and was titled “Jetson’s Nite Out.” The episode revolves around George’s plans to watch the robot football championship game and the…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 22 '12

Sex and Space Travel: Predictions from the 1950s

In September of 1992 astronauts Jan Davis and Mark Lee became the first married couple to leave the planet together. But NASA didn’t originally plan on it happening that way. NASA had an unwritten rule that married astronauts couldn’t be sent into space together. Davis and Lee had been assigned to the mission in 1989…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 18 '12

Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 04 – The Coming of Astro

This is the fourth in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. The fourth episode of “The Jetsons” originally aired on October 14, 1962 and was titled “The Coming of Astro.” After Elroy brings home a dog and convinces his mother Jane to let him…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 15 '12

A New Great Depression and Ladies on the Moon: 1970s Middle School Kids Look to the Year 2000

The February 26, 1977 edition of the Herald-Star in Steubenville, Ohio published dozens of predictions for the year 2000 made by the people of Steubenville, a working class town in eastern Ohio (and the birthplace of Dean Martin). Some of these letters came from local middle school kids 10-12 years old and they provide a…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 12 '12

Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 03 – The Space Car

This is the third in a 24-part series look at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. Each and every year at least one company goes knocking on the doors of the major news outlets and announces to the world that the futuristic vision of a flying car will be…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 9 '12

Predictions From The Father of Science Fiction

Hugo “Awards” Gernsback was many different things to different people. To his fans, he was a visionary who started some of the most influential (not to mention the first) science fiction magazines of the early 20th century. Ray Bradbury was quoted as saying, “Gernsback made us fall in love with the future.” To his detractors,…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 4 '12

Revisiting Epcot Center on its 30th Birthday

EPCOT Center opened on October 1, 1982 as the single most expensive private construction project the world had ever seen. It was immediately viewed by Disney purists as a shadow of Walt Disney’s utopian dream to build a dynamic city of technology and innovation. EPCOT was originally supposed to be a real city; alive with…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 3 '12

Recapping “The Jetsons”: Episode 02 – A Date With Jet Screamer

This is the second in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. The second episode of “The Jetsons” aired September 30, 1962 and was titled “A Date With Jet Screamer.” Arguably the most famous of all the Jetsons episodes, it’s also certainly the most hedonistic;…

Tech News Matt Novak Oct 1 '12

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

Matt Novak

Future Classics: Readers of 1936 Predict Which Authors Will Endure

Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 09 – Elroy’s TV Show

Nikola Tesla the Eugenicist: Eliminating Undesirables by 2100

Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 08 – Rosey’s Boyfriend

Five Past Visions of Our Political Future

Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 07 – The Flying Suit

Aldous Huxley’s Predictions for 2000 A.D.

Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 06 – The Good Little Scouts

And the Winner Is: 2012 Inductees to the Robot Hall of Fame

Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 05 – Jetson’s Nite Out

Sex and Space Travel: Predictions from the 1950s

Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 04 – The Coming of Astro

A New Great Depression and Ladies on the Moon: 1970s Middle School Kids Look to the Year 2000

Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 03 – The Space Car

Predictions From The Father of Science Fiction

Revisiting Epcot Center on its 30th Birthday

Recapping “The Jetsons”: Episode 02 – A Date With Jet Screamer

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

Chinese Spy Who Targeted Jensen Huang Worked Directly for China’s Top Spy Agency: Report

Musk Says SpaceX Government Revenue Will Shrivel Next Year

No Manga Nails Liminal Spaces Quite Like Tsutomu Nihei’s ‘Blame!’

A Wave of Bomb Threats Is Bringing European Flights and TV Stations to a Halt

Insurers After $6.3 Billion Crypto Heist: D’oh!

The New York Times Doesn’t Understand AI’s Role in Suppressing Wages

Takashi Yamazaki Hopes to Make a ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Sequel

NordVPN’s Black Friday Deal Also Protects You From Black Friday Scams

Europe’s Hera Probe Sends Back Its Closest View Yet of NASA’s DART Crash Site

Krispy Kreme Is Beating Nvidia, and That’s Not Even the Chip Giant’s Biggest Problem

Gizmodo’s Best Tech of 2026 Awards: Our Favorite Phones, Laptops, Smart Home Gear, and More

Marshall Stockwell III Review: Big Sound in a Small Package

Sony MDR-3R Review: Walkman Nostalgia Wins Again

MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display Review: Screw Touchscreens, It’s Still the Best Mac

The Best Gaming Gifts Under $100

Arlo Essential Solar Camera Review: Solar Is Great, but Subscription Paywalls Aren’t

iPad mini OLED Review: Apple’s Smallest Tablet Is Also Its Best

HP EliteBook X Flip G2i 14 AI Review: Great for the Office, if Not Your Wallet

The Best Gadgets of October 2026

CMF Speaker M Review: This Bluetooth Speaker Sparks Joy