Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

Corner Grocermat (1959)

The January 4, 1959 edition of Closer Than We Think illustrated the corner grocermat of the future. The modular/mobile nature of the whole idea is reminiscent of the “farm to market” trains featured in Magic Highway, U.S.A. They certainly could have inspired the “mobile malls” of 1981 we looked at a while back. Here’s an…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 31 '09

London to New York in 2 Days! (1919)

This September 21, 1919 piece in the Nevada State Journal (Reno, NV) was titled “Giant Air Cruisers To Link Cities of World, Predicts British Expert.” The most interesting part of the article is by far the “Aerial Time Table.” Just 7 days from London to Perth? Amazing! The Daily Chronicle, which indulges in a bit…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 29 '09

Age Wars! The Coming Battle Between Young and Old (1986)

The article "Age Wars: The Coming Battle Between Young and Old" is from the January/February, 1986 issue of The Futurist magazine. Though the content isn’t necessarily funny, the piece makes me laugh every time I look at it, thanks to the amazing picture that complements the headline so well. 1986 Jan-Feb Futurist "Age Wars" 1986…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 28 '09

The Gyroscope Monorail System (1912)

August 15, 1912 Fort Wayne Sentinel (Fort Wayne, IN) The August 15, 1912 Fort Wayne Sentinel (Fort Wayne, IN) ran a short piece about how the gyroscope monorail system was the mass transit wave of the future. An excerpt as well as the full article appear below: On the left, a common scene when the…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 26 '09

The Future of the Helicopter (1955)

Flying Platform – 1955 The April 30, 1955 issue of Pacific Stars and Stripes (Tokyo, Japan) ran this short piece about the future of the helicopter. While it’s certainly up for debate, I think the “hoppi-copter” pictured in the article below may be the most dangerous flying machine this side of a flying Ford Pinto.…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 25 '09

General Motors Trucks of the Future (1982)

In 1982-83 Geoff Lawson created these concept paintings for General Motors. Stumbling upon great pieces of transportation futurism from the past certainly makes me wonder if a current lack of imagination is what has doomed the American auto industry. (via BigLorryBlog) Previously on Paleo-Future: GM’s Shopping Cart Car (1964) Transportation of the Future (1992) GM…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 24 '09

Computer Criminals of the Future (1981)

The 1981 book School, Work and Play (World of Tomorrow) features this beautiful two-page spread. Apparently, thanks to computers, there’s no crime in the future outside of the computerized variety. The “computer criminal” pictured really doesn’t appear to be running very fast. Maybe they’re playing a game of freeze-tag. Or maybe that policeman’s gun has…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 23 '09

The Prophets of Misery and Robotism (1956)

Victor Cohn, in his 1956 book 1999: Our Hopeful Future, addresses those who romanticize the past and those with a general distaste for technology playing any positive role in humanity’s future. The prophets of misery and robotism too often focus their sights on the cocktail party instead of the school. They describe the life of…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 23 '09

Radio-Newspaper Receiver for Home Use (1939)

With so much talk of late about how old media outlets are dying, it may be time to look at past visions of the media future. Not that they worked. Don’t get any crazy ideas guys. The image above is from the excellent blog Modern Mechanix and was featured in the May, 1939 issue of…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 23 '09

The future of commuting took a left turn (2009)

Gordon Dickson wrote a piece in the February 15, 2009 issue of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about the Paleo-Future blog: In popular culture, paleofuture refers to the study of what people in the past thought we’d be doing today — flying in cars, eating entire meals in a pill, submitting to self-aware robots. One clearinghouse…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 22 '09

City of the Future Postcards (circa 1910)

Leominster in the Future (postcard circa 1910) At the turn of the 20th century, the postcard seemed to be a popular medium with which to imagine the future. While these depictions were often tongue-in-cheek they, like the Jetsons in the 1960s, held some kernel of truth about society’s expectations for what was to come. We…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 19 '09

The Public School of Tomorrow (1912)

The March 7, 1912 Spirit Lake Beacon (Spirit Lake, IA) published a piece by V.A. Arnold titled, “The Public School of Tomorrow.” It’s interesting to see transportation discussed as a way to revolutionize education in the early 20th century. An excerpt from the piece appears below, along with the article in its entirety. Our future…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 18 '09

The Electronic Home (circa 1988)

Ameritech’s (late 1980s) concept video The Electronic Home envisions the futuristic world of HDTV and videophone, as well as internet-like services that allow you to make restaurant reservations (at a cartoonishly stereotypical Italian restaurant), shop for kimonos (because your shirt is made of giant playing cards), or buy a house (with your Atari joystick). The…

Tech News Matt Novak Feb 26 '09

Man or Machine? (1933)

Whenever doing research on past robots of the future I usually have to wade through a lot of exaggeration, distortion, and lies. The hundreds of articles that I’ve read from the 1920s through the present often describe robots doing things that would be incredibly difficult, even for the robots of 2009. It is much easier…

Tech News Matt Novak Feb 22 '09

Family Life to be Altered Greatly by 21st Century (1968)

The January 2, 1968 Lima News (Lima, OH) ran the third in a series of articles based on research by the Commission on the Year 2000 of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The third in the series dealt with life, work and family issues humanity would face in the year 2000. As I’ve…

Tech News Matt Novak Feb 6 '09

But the Internet has no Dewey decimal system… (1995)

With search engines acting as such a necessary tool for internet use in 2009, we sometimes must remind ourselves that they did not come pre-packaged with cyberspace. The 1997 book Predicting the Future looked at past and contemporary predictions of the future and assessed their accuracy. A 1995 prediction by Bill Gates about “the internet…

Tech News Matt Novak Feb 5 '09

Rejuvenated Downtowns (1959)

The March 1, 1959 edition of Arthur Radebaugh’s Closer Than We Think! featured “rejuvenated downtowns” of the future. I travel the United States often imagining what the downtowns of our major cities once looked like. Few American downtowns are thriving, or barely surviving. The downtown of the city in which I live (St. Paul, MN)…

Tech News Matt Novak Jan 6 '09

Horizontal Cities of 2031 (1931)

The December 6, 1931 Daily Capital News and Post-Tribune (Jefferson City, MO) ran a short blurb about Francis Keally’s predictions for the city of 2031. Keally (1889-1978) was an architect who worked on the Oregon state capitol building in Salem, which was completed in 1938. Francis Keally thinks that our future cities will spread out…

Tech News Matt Novak Jan 3 '09

The Pioneers’ Centennial (1909)

Did you raise a toast to William Marconi last night? How about Robert Fulton? Not even the Wright brothers? Well, this piece in the September 26, 1909 New York Times thought you would be doing just that in twenty-oh-nine. This fictionalized future editorial explores everything from the “aerovessels” we were to be flying to the…

Tech News Matt Novak Jan 1 '09

Man’s Life in the Space Age (1962)

Fun House has posted some fun images from the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle, which was also known as the “Century 21 Exposition.” The image above is a map which “illustrates your trip through the World of Century 21.” Previously on Paleo-Future: Seattle World’s Fair Official Souvenir Program (1962) Frederick & Nelson Ad (1962) Century…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 22 '08

Matt Novak

Corner Grocermat (1959)

London to New York in 2 Days! (1919)

Age Wars! The Coming Battle Between Young and Old (1986)

The Gyroscope Monorail System (1912)

The Future of the Helicopter (1955)

General Motors Trucks of the Future (1982)

Computer Criminals of the Future (1981)

The Prophets of Misery and Robotism (1956)

Radio-Newspaper Receiver for Home Use (1939)

The future of commuting took a left turn (2009)

City of the Future Postcards (circa 1910)

The Public School of Tomorrow (1912)

The Electronic Home (circa 1988)

Man or Machine? (1933)

Family Life to be Altered Greatly by 21st Century (1968)

But the Internet has no Dewey decimal system… (1995)

Rejuvenated Downtowns (1959)

Horizontal Cities of 2031 (1931)

The Pioneers’ Centennial (1909)

Man’s Life in the Space Age (1962)

‘Doctor Who’ Writer Mark Gatiss Says What We’re All Thinking About the Show’s Future

‘Lanterns’ Season 2 Is Already in the Works Whether It Happens or Not

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