Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

Every Era Produces Good Music (1968)

The August 31, 1968 Daily Review (Hayward, CA) ran this article about the possibility that future generations may one day consider music of the 1960s to be good. The article turns into a very specific endorsement/advertisement of a new LP by The Sandpipers. Do you think there was some payola going on in the newspaper…

Tech News Matt Novak

Magic Highway U.S.A. Publicity Stills (1958)

Kevin Kidney has uploaded some amazing Magic Highway, U.S.A. images taken straight from publicity stills of the era. He cleaned them up, spending upwards of an hour and a half on each image. As a Disney artist for over 22 years, Kevin’s Flickr account also contains great examples of his work on Disney collectibles. Kevin…

Tech News Matt Novak

World of Robots (1929)

The November 10, 1929 Helena Daily Independent (Helena, Montana) ran this short piece about the robots of the future which would enslave humanity by the year 1950. Birmingham, Eng., Nov. 9. – The world will be a place of mechanical men in 1950, according to the Institute of Industrial Welfare. Skill will have vanished from…

Tech News Matt Novak

Maid Without Tears (1978)

Matt Chapman, co-creator of Homestar Runner, sent me this great image from the 1978 book Exploring the World of Robots. While I’ve never had a maid, I didn’t know that they were always on the verge of crying! As Matt notes, “the ‘Maid Without Tears’ does not appear to have been made without cords as…

Tech News Matt Novak

Cars Detroit Forgot To Build, 1950-1960

Bruce McCall’s 2001 book The Last Dream-o-Rama is a brilliant, hilarious example of postmodern paleo-futurism (an obnoxiously academic term I came up with to describe co-opting past visions of the future). With a subtitle of “The Cars Detroit Forgot to Build, 1950-1960” this book is pure parody. Although, side-by-side with the sincere concept drawings of…

Tech News Matt Novak

Mile Run in 3:41 by Year 2000 (1965)

The September 4, 1965 Press Courier (Oxnard, CA) ran an article titled, “Physiologist sees mile run in 3:41 by year 2000.” The entire article appears below. In case you were wondering, the actual world record in 2000 was 3:43.13, set by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco, according to Running Times magazine. How fast will man…

Tech News Matt Novak

Magic Highway, U.S.A. Segment (1958)

Jeff over at 2719 Hyperion consistently has great analysis of all-things-Disney. Last week he posted the futuristic segment from the 1958 Disneyland TV show, “Magic Highway, U.S.A.” Provided it stays up, I recommend checking out the clip because you can’t find this program anywhere else. You may remember the clips that we’ve looked at here…

Tech News Matt Novak

Wernher von Braun’s Space Shuttle (1950s)

These illustrations by Fred Freeman show Wernher von Braun’s concept for a space shuttle in the 1950s. The illustrations can be found in the book Visions of Spaceflight: Images from the Ordway Collection. To provide safety in case of a malfunction of the reusable upper stage – von Braun’s 1950s shuttle concept – crew and…

Tech News Matt Novak

Closer Than We Think! Custom-Grown Timber (1960)

The man in this May 8, 1960 Closer Than We Think! strip is injecting color into trees from a walking robot paint-mixer. Much like polar oil wells, this image certainly has a different connotation in 2007 than it did in 1960. Today’s forests simply grow. Tomorrow, this process may be speeded and regulated – as…

Tech News Matt Novak

History of Spaceflight

The clip below is from the DVD History of Spaceflight and looks at early visions of possible flying machines. See also:Flying Machines (circa 1885)Futuristic Air Travel (circa 1900)Boy’s Flying Machine of the 20th Century (1900)Pears Soap Flying Machine (1906)Postcards Show the Year 2000 (circa 1900)French Prints Show the Year 2000 (1910)Going to the Opera in…

Tech News Matt Novak

Edmund G. Brown’s Californifuture (1963)

Today we continue our look into the time capsule and booklet titled 2063 A.D. Buried by General Dynamics Astronautics in 1963, there is some question as to where it may now reside, as the General Dynamics Astronautics building has been torn down. Some guessed that it would be at the San Diego Air & Space…

Tech News Matt Novak

Ocean Life by Klaus Bürgle (1960s)

Although I can’t read the language, Retro-Futurismus has some great paleo-futuristic images, such as these from Klaus Bürgle. See also: Sealab 1994 (1973) Man’s Future Beneath the Sea (1968) Undersea Cities (1954) Hubert H. Humphrey’s Year 2000 (1967)

Tech News Matt Novak

Meet George Jetson (Wall Street Journal, 2007)

Jason Fry has a very interesting piece in today’s Wall Street Journal about those who long for the Jetsons’ version of the future. The November 15, 2007 issue of Rolling Stone also has an article about paleo-futurism, although I haven’t read that one yet. An excerpt from the Wall Street Journal piece appears below but…

Tech News Matt Novak

Take Me With You Dearie (1909)

A friend just sent me a link to Early Aviator, which has some great images of flight from the early 20th century. Some are serious photographs while others are fanciful illustrations of what aviation was to be. Some of the sheet music imagery and titles feel like they could be part of a Mr. Show…

Tech News Matt Novak

Closer Than We Think! Space Coveralls (1960)

Due to popular demand, today we have “Space Coveralls” from the March 20, 1960 Closer Than We Think! strip which ran in the Chicago Tribune. Astronauts will need protection from dangerous radiation, temperature extremes, lack of oxygen, unusual conditions of gravity and other space barriers. Special suits to do that job are now being developed.…

Tech News Matt Novak

The End of Work (1966)

Today, we have more from the 1966 radio documentary 2000 A.D.. In this part of the program host Chet Huntley talks with Irwin “Bud” Lewis about the future of computers and leisure. My opinion is that we’re going to have to readjust our old, Puritan perhaps, concepts of what a person should do with his…

Tech News Matt Novak

Mean Automakers Dash Nation’s Hope For Flying Cars

The Onion has this hilarious video depicting automakers frustrated by an anchorman who won’t take "no" for an answer. Mean Automakers Dash Nation’s Hope For Flying Cars See also:Yet Another Flying Car CompanyThe Jetsons Car We’ve Been Waiting For?In 50 Years: Cars Flying Like Missiles! (Chicago Daily Tribune, 1959)Where’s My Jetpack? (2007)Automobiles Without Wheels (1958)Flying…

Tech News Matt Novak

Closer Than We Think! Boytopia (1960)

This Closer Than We Think! strip ran in the March 13, 1960 Chicago Tribune. Community center planners are getting ready to meet tomorrow’s challenges. For proof, look at “Boytopia,” the concept of the Boys’ Clubs of America for the age of automation and space travel. Such centers would teach youngsters the mechanics of space travel,…

Tech News Matt Novak

Zero-Gravity Football (1981)

This illustration of “zero-gravity football” appears in the 1981 book School, Work and Play (World of Tomorrow). Zero-gravity football is a great sport, but it can only be played in a space colony or a space station, where there are zones in which everything is weightless. The players zoom through the air, powered by small…

Tech News Matt Novak

Discovering the Videophone (1970)

The photo above ran in the August 6, 1970 Daily Courier (Connellsville, PA). The last sentence of the picture’s caption appears to believe that the telephone was “discovered” rather than invented. Start digging and you may discover some brand new technology, in your own backyard! Lee Klingensmith (left), son of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Klingensmith…

Tech News Matt Novak

Matt Novak

Every Era Produces Good Music (1968)

Magic Highway U.S.A. Publicity Stills (1958)

World of Robots (1929)

Maid Without Tears (1978)

Cars Detroit Forgot To Build, 1950-1960

Mile Run in 3:41 by Year 2000 (1965)

Magic Highway, U.S.A. Segment (1958)

Wernher von Braun’s Space Shuttle (1950s)

Closer Than We Think! Custom-Grown Timber (1960)

History of Spaceflight

Edmund G. Brown’s Californifuture (1963)

Ocean Life by Klaus Bürgle (1960s)

Meet George Jetson (Wall Street Journal, 2007)

Take Me With You Dearie (1909)

Closer Than We Think! Space Coveralls (1960)

The End of Work (1966)

Mean Automakers Dash Nation’s Hope For Flying Cars

Closer Than We Think! Boytopia (1960)

Zero-Gravity Football (1981)

Discovering the Videophone (1970)

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