Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

Supersonic Jet Set May Land at Sea (1967)

As I type these words from the relative comfort of a chair 30,000 feet in the sky, I can’t help but marvel at the incredible advancements aviation has made in the last hundred years. Being connected to the internet is but just one thing airline passengers now take for granted as humanity’s ability to move…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 27 '10

The Vanity of Human Wishes (1970)

This image was lost some time after publication. Russell Kirk [wikipedia.org]The April 3, 1970 Ada Evening News published a piece by conservative writer Russell Kirk in which he becomes perturbed that the study of the future — which was beginning to be accepted in mainstream academic circles of that time — may be driven by…

Tech News Matt Novak May 16 '10

Televox Entertains High School Students (1930)

The November 20, 1930 Muscatine Journal and News-Tribune (Muscatine, IA) ran a short blurb announcing that Televox — a robot you might remember as the husband of one Mrs. Katrina Van Televox — would be making an appearance at a local Iowa high school. “Televox,” the mechanical man, one of the outstanding miracles of modern…

Tech News Matt Novak May 6 '10

Jean-Marc Côté’s Visions of the Year 2000 (1899)

Back in 2007, when the Paleo-Future blog was just two photos of Jane Jetson and a link to my Friendster profile, I posted some images from the National Library of France that depicted life in the year 2000. I’ve since learned that these prints are from 1899, rather than 1910 as reported by the BnF.…

Tech News Matt Novak May 2 '10

Will Science Harness Sun Power After the War? (1942)

This image was lost some time after publication. In 1942, with World War II raging, people were naturally thinking about what a post-War world might look like. Once the present world-wide orgy of destruction has come to an end, there will be a tremendous job of reconstruction to do. Ruined cities, factories, power stations will…

Tech News Matt Novak May 1 '10

Vitamins and Exercise to Replace Girdles by 2007 (1957)

The June 26, 1957 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner ran an article titled, “Vitamins and Exercise Will Replace Girdles in 50 Years, Says Designer.” An excerpt appears below, while the article in its entirety can be read at right. The corset people are in a dither because a fashion designer says the woman of the future won’t…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 27 '10

Tommy Edison Builds Secretary Knox a Robot (1909)

The only thing I might love more than robots of the 1920s and 30s are robots from before the word “robot” was coined in 1922. Now, I won’t pretend to understand what’s going on in this illustration. Like most editorial cartoons that I stumble upon while searching newspaper archives, I have no idea what’s happening…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 25 '10

The Streamlined Car of 1960 (1948)

Popular Science produced short films in the 1940s and 50s that showcased technology of the near and distant future. This short was released theatrically on May 21, 1948 and featured “streamlined marvels on wheels.” The narrator cheerfully proclaims of the second car (pictured above), “If you’re looking for a 1960 model, this may well be…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 23 '10

Follow-The-Sun House (1959)

Today we have yet another panel from Arthur Radebaugh’s excellent Closer Than We Think series of comic strips. Though the strip often ran on Sunday, the more eagle-eyed amongst you (read: nerdy) may notice that this particular strip was published in the Toronto Star Weekly on Saturday, May 2, 1959. Before alternative energy policy became…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 21 '10

Dr. Smith’s Flying Machine (1896)

The September 1, 1896 San Francisco Call (San Francisco, CA) ran this image of inventor Dr. C. A. Smith’s flying machine. Apparently Smith had a model of his airship propped up on two stools in a shop on Market Street in San Francisco. The functional version of the machine was to be 105 feet in…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 5 '10

Robert McCall (1920-2010)

With Robert McCall‘s recent death at the age of 90 it seems fitting we take a look at the artist’s statement he wrote for his 1981 show at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts, A Vision of the Future: The Art of Robert McCall. You’ll notice that he uses the word “artist” quite often. Apparently…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 23 '10

Sport in the Year 2000 (1986)

The March, 1986 issue of Omni magazine featured a quiz readers could take to test their knowledge of what sports would be like in the year 2000 and beyond. The thing I find funny about this was that the “correct” answers were determined by one man, Peter Ueberroth, the commissioner of Major League Baseball. While…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 21 '10

Private Planes of the Future (1944)

The July, 1944 issue of Popular Science contains this private plane of the future, as imagined by Douglas Rolfe. Previously on Paleo-Future: Personal Helicopter (1943) Torpedo Boat of Tomorrow (1943) Passenger Air Travel (1945) Gryoscopic Rocket Car (1945) Commuter Helicopter (1947) Word Origins: Imagineering (1940s)

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 20 '10

Until the Millennium! (1930)

The November 24, 1930 Jefferson City Post-Tribune (Jefferson City, MO) ran this advertisement for an insurance company which assured readers that there would be no need for their services in the future. But until that day comes — when traffic officers have nothing to do but knit, the flaws of human nature have vanished and…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 15 '10

Strange Ships That Sail In The Skies (1897)

The May 9, 1897 St. Paul Globe (St. Paul, MN) ran an interesting article titled, “Strange Ships That Sail In The Skies.” The article describes proposed flying vessels of the future, as well as newspapers around the United States that had were printing questionable accounts of flying machines already in use. Many of the illustrations…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 10 '10

Lunar Colonies of the Future (1969)

The May, 1969 issue of Science Journal features an article by Dr. Rodney Wendell Johnson about lunar colonies of the future. Dr. Johnson was the Advanced Planner for NASA’s Advanced Manned Mission Program Office. The illustrations by Roy G. Scarfo that accompany the article are pretty amazing. (Please excuse the semi-blurred scans. The magazine is…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 3 '10

Disaster Response Vehicle (1960)

The September 11, 1960 edition of Arthur Radebaugh’s Closer Than We Think envisioned a type of disaster response vehicle that could seemingly accomplish many of the things people still complain about whenever governments respond to crises. With a decimated infrastructure those “terra tires” (crushing cars, mind you) would certainly come in handy. It’s interesting that…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 1 '10

Science on the March (1952)

This illustration by Alexander Leydenfrost appeared in the fiftieth anniversary issue of Popular Mechanics (January, 1952). It depicts “science on the march” and even includes a chart explaining the various elements of the image. This post originally appeared at Paleofuture.com.

Tech News Matt Novak Feb 28 '10

Another Frigidaire Space Age Advance (1966)

Last month we looked at this photo in a book of 1960’s advertisements. It’s not immediately clear what women in space helmets have to do with refrigerators, but like we’ve discussed, positioning a product as “futuristic” means that as a consumer you’re able to “buy tomorrow.” Own a piece of the future… with our widget.…

Tech News Matt Novak Feb 24 '10

Flying Machines Allow Your Lover a Quick Escape (1901)

It doesn’t get much better than saucy French futurism, does it? These illustrations of futuristic flying machines from 1901 are quite similar to both the German and French personal flying machines we’ve looked at from this era. I find the electric lights adorning her hat and dress quite beautiful. Early electric light and the way…

Tech News Matt Novak Feb 22 '10

Matt Novak

Supersonic Jet Set May Land at Sea (1967)

The Vanity of Human Wishes (1970)

Televox Entertains High School Students (1930)

Jean-Marc Côté’s Visions of the Year 2000 (1899)

Will Science Harness Sun Power After the War? (1942)

Vitamins and Exercise to Replace Girdles by 2007 (1957)

Tommy Edison Builds Secretary Knox a Robot (1909)

The Streamlined Car of 1960 (1948)

Follow-The-Sun House (1959)

Dr. Smith’s Flying Machine (1896)

Robert McCall (1920-2010)

Sport in the Year 2000 (1986)

Private Planes of the Future (1944)

Until the Millennium! (1930)

Strange Ships That Sail In The Skies (1897)

Lunar Colonies of the Future (1969)

Disaster Response Vehicle (1960)

Science on the March (1952)

Another Frigidaire Space Age Advance (1966)

Flying Machines Allow Your Lover a Quick Escape (1901)

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