Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

Sex in the Year 2019 (1986)

In his 1986 book July 20, 2019: Life in the 21st Century author Arthur C. Clarke discusses what sexual relations will be like in the year 2019. He envisions a world in which people “boldly state their desires, no matter how bizarre or specific.” While many of his predictions about sex seem pretty accurate, (assuming…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 28 '09

Mama’s Easter Parade Costume of 2000 A.D. (1951)

This image of “Mama’s Easter parade costume in 2000 A.D.” appeared in the February 26, 1951 Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (Walla Walla, WA). “Chicago fashion experts” predicted that women would carry around their own food, fuel and telephones in mesh bags. The food and telephones seem rather prescient, but I’m not so sure about the “fuel”…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 28 '09

Frozen to Death in the Year 2011 (1873)

The July 10, 1873 Decatur Republican (Decatur, IL) describes, in a rather condescending manner, a prediction of one Professor Plantamour. It seems Plantamour was fond of making predictions involving comets, predicting in 1872 that Plantamour’s Comet would collide with Earth on August 12, 1873. After it was fairly certain that such an event would not…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 28 '09

A Suit For The First Man on the Moon (1961)

The August 6, 1961 Post-Standard Sunday magazine (Syracuse, NY) ran a short piece about an Experimental Engineering class at UCLA that was experimenting/playing with a “moon man’s suit.” Designed by Allyn B. Hazard, the suit also appeared on the cover of Life magazine’s April 27, 1962 issue. The entire two-page spread from the Post-Standard can…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 28 '09

The Martian Base (1951)

This painting by Leslie Carr, based on a drawing by R.A. Smith, appears in the 1951 book The Exploration of Space by Arthur C. Clarke. Eighteen years before Man would set foot on the moon, the image depicts a Martian colony of the future, similar to those which would show up later in the 1957…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 27 '09

Lady Vice President by Year 2000 (1955)

The November 21, 1955 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (Fairbanks, AK) ran a short piece with the predictions of Mrs. Ivy Baker Priest. She predicted that by the year 2000 there would be three female members of the Supreme Court and a lady vice president. Priest also predicted that half of congress would be female. Sonia Sotomayor…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 24 '09

Women of the Year 2011 (1911)

The March 18, 1911 Penny Illustrated Paper (London, England) ran a piece by J.C. Bristow-Noble titled, "Woman of the Future," in which he makes predictions about the woman of 2011. Bristow-Noble writes that contrary to what Bernard Shaw says, women will not abandon the skirt or the petticoat because, "I tell you in confidence as…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 21 '09

Chrysler VP Predicts Solar-Powered Cars (1958)

The current crisis in the American auto industry has led to louder (though long-standing) charges that it did not do enough to produce fuel-efficient vehicles using cutting-edge automotive technologies. Given Chrysler’s bankruptcy filing, and recent sale to Fiat, it seems appropriate that we look at what the auto industry was telling the American public about…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 20 '09

Manufactured Working Robots (1980s)

DC-1: Drink Caddy Robot (1979) – Android Amusement Corp The Robot Exhibit: History, Fantasy and Reality was at the American Craft Museum (now the Museum of Arts and Design) from January 13, 1984 – May 11, 1984. These six robots appeared as the “manufactured working robots” of the exhibit and are featured in the book…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 16 '09

Oil and Gas Will Eventually be Exhausted (1909)

The July 19, 1909 Titusville Herald (Titusville, PA) ran an article containing predictions by the United States Geological Survey of a coming energy crisis. The report predicted that all petroleum and iron would be exhausted by 1939, all natural gas by 1934 and all coal by the middle of the 21st century. Interestingly, the report…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 14 '09

Media Room of the Future (1979)

This media room of the future, featured in the 1979 book The Computer Age: A Twenty-Year View, is strikingly similar to the living room of the future we looked at almost two years ago. Media Room. Homes of the future will have rooms akin to this illustration into which a user can immerse all sensory…

Tech News Matt Novak May 30 '09

Videophone “Progress” Newspaper Ad (1976)

The June 30, 1976 Blue Earth Post (Blue Earth, MN) ran this ad for the Blue Earth Valley Telephone Company, in which the videophone is presented as the inevitable next step in telephone technology. Previously on Paleo-Future: The Future is Now (1955) Discovering the Videophone (1970) Picturephone as the perpetual technology of the future A…

Tech News Matt Novak May 21 '09

Predictions for 1993 (1893)

The March 25, 1893 Newark Daily Advocate (Newark, OH) ran predictions of what the world of 1993 would look like. Excerpts from each of the four journalists (George Alfred Townson, Kate Field, Nym Crinkle, and John Swinton) appear below. The entire article is embedded below, or you can read it here. Substitute the word "blog"…

Tech News Matt Novak May 17 '09

Aerial War of the Not-Distant Future (1900)

This illustration of an “aerial battle of the not-distant future” appeared in the November 20, 1900 Duluth Evening Herald (Duluth, MN). As with most of my posts involving newspapers from Minnesota, this image was found in the microfilm library of the Minnesota History Center. A special thank you to the MNHS for keeping their facilities…

Tech News Matt Novak May 12 '09

“Factory” Farms of the Future (1961)

Remember when the term “factory farm” was synonymous with a positive way to produce food? Neither do I. But this April 9, 1961 edition of Closer Than We Think (which appeared in the Chicago Tribune) treats the phrase as a part of humanity’s natural progression in the advancement of science. I imagine what a different…

Tech News Matt Novak May 11 '09

Toroidal Space Colony of the Future (1982)

This image appears in the 1982 book Walt Disney’s Epcot Center: Creating the New World of Tomorrow. One thing I find curious about the illustration is that it appears to be of a toroidal (or circular) space station, but you can see what looks like sailboats in the water. My simplistic (child-like, really) understanding of…

Tech News Matt Novak May 4 '09

Futuristic Pollution Deflector (1968)

The February 23, 1968 Bridgeport Telegram ran this picture of the futuristic urban woman of the year 2000. Her futuristic body paint naturally deflects air pollutants and radioactivity! Happy Earth Day! IS THIS WHAT LIES AHEAD? – A Los Angeles engineer thinks women living in an urban environment in 2000 will look like Vicki Dunlap,…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 22 '09

Steel Time Capsule for 2056 A.D. (1956)

In 1956 the American Iron and Steel Institute placed a time capsule inside the cornerstone of an office building at 150 East 42nd St, New York City. To mark the occasion the Institute took out an advertisement in newspapers throughout Steel Country. This version of the ad was found in the October 30, 1956 Lebanon…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 20 '09

Stupid Kids Imagine the Year 2075 (1975)

You know what’s almost as fun as looking at past predictions of the future? Looking at what stupid kids thought the future would be like. Now, you may take issue with me calling these kids stupid, but this article is from 1975 and all these kids are in their mid-40s now. So take that kid-40-year-olds!…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 8 '09

Space Colonies of the Year 2000 (1979)

In the 1979 book Star Wars Question and Answer Book About Space R2-D2 and C-3PO take young readers through space, explaining different types of telescopes, the search for UFOs, exploding stars, and future space colonies! The image below is described as a space colony that humans could be living in by the year 2000! The…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 7 '09

Matt Novak

Sex in the Year 2019 (1986)

Mama’s Easter Parade Costume of 2000 A.D. (1951)

Frozen to Death in the Year 2011 (1873)

A Suit For The First Man on the Moon (1961)

The Martian Base (1951)

Lady Vice President by Year 2000 (1955)

Women of the Year 2011 (1911)

Chrysler VP Predicts Solar-Powered Cars (1958)

Manufactured Working Robots (1980s)

Oil and Gas Will Eventually be Exhausted (1909)

Media Room of the Future (1979)

Videophone “Progress” Newspaper Ad (1976)

Predictions for 1993 (1893)

Aerial War of the Not-Distant Future (1900)

“Factory” Farms of the Future (1961)

Toroidal Space Colony of the Future (1982)

Futuristic Pollution Deflector (1968)

Steel Time Capsule for 2056 A.D. (1956)

Stupid Kids Imagine the Year 2075 (1975)

Space Colonies of the Year 2000 (1979)

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