Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

Rebuilding Tomorrowland (1966)

The book Walt Disney’s America by Christopher Finch contains a 1966 quote from Walt Disney which sums up why the (1997) redesign of Tomorrowland was antithetical to its original purpose. Now, when we opened Disneyland, outer space was Buck Rogers. I did put in a trip to the moon, and I got Wernher von Braun…

Tech News Matt Novak

LOLfutures

What happens when you take three summer courses at once? You go a little crazy and start making LOLfutures. If you’re not familiar with the LOLCats craze, I suggest checking out the Wikipedia page, which can bring you up to speed much better than I can. My favorite incarnation is probably Ape Lad’s The Laugh-Out-Loud…

Tech News Matt Novak

The Population Bomb: Scenario 3 (1970)

It is a fitting day to look at Paul Ehrlich’s third and final scenario of agri-apocalypse from his 1968 book, The Population Bomb. Today Norman Borlaug, probably the greatest living American, received the Congressional Gold Medal. Mr. Bourlag received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 after becoming an integral figure in the “Green Revolution.” While…

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Frederick & Nelson Ad (1962)

The last two pages of the official souvenir program for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair contained this ad from Frederick & Nelson, prominently illustrating the monorail. See also: Seattle World’s Fair Official Souvenir Program (1962) Closer Than We Think! Monoline Express (1961) Amphibian Monorail (Popular Science, 1934) Century 21: Space Needle Designs (1962) Monorails at…

Tech News Matt Novak

Lives of Women to Improve (1923)

Mary Garrett Bay, Chairman (yes, it read “Chairman”) of the New York City League of Women Voters wrote a short piece in the February 12, 1923 Bridgeport Telegram (Bridgeport, Connecticut) about the women of 2022. The life of even the average woman will be broader and better. Woman’s drudgery in the household will be eliminated,…

Tech News Matt Novak

The Jetsons Car We’ve Been Waiting For?

Over at Moller International they take the idea of a flying car very seriously. Moller’s June 28, 2007 press release announced the start of production for their, "Jetsons-like M200G volantor, a small airborne two passenger saucer-shaped vehicle that is designed to take-off and land vertically." Further excerpts from the press release appear below along with…

Tech News Matt Novak

More Predictions of a 14-Year-Old (1901)

A few months ago we looked at the first part of fourteen-year-old Arthur Palm’s predictions for the year 2001. Arthur was writing for his school newspaper, the Milwaukee Excelsior, in the year 1901. According to the book Yesterday’s Future little Arthur was probably influenced by this image from the January 12, 1901 Collier’s Weekly. Today…

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Paleo-Future Wallpaper: Round 2

Back by popular demand, we have a whole new batch of paleo-futuristic wallpapers. We even have a size for those of you who can’t be bothered to capitalize the first letter in your phone’s name. I’ll try to make wallpapers a regular thing from now on. I can’t promise the consistency of say, Fish Fry…

Tech News Matt Novak

Longer Honeymoons, Happier Wives (1923)

Margaret Sanger wrote a short piece about the year 2022 for the February 12, 1923 Bridgeport Telegram (Bridgeport, Connecticut). Birth control will have become a part of education in health and hygiene. Women especially will be demanding it. They will realize that it is a foundation of freedom and intellectual development for them. Women cannot…

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Closer Than We Think! Polar Oil Wells (1960)

Sometimes ideas of the paleo-future not only elicit a chuckle for their scientific improbability but, in the case of “Polar Oil Wells,” political improbability. Baby penguins watching their habitat melting wouldn’t be a very popular image today. This Closer Than We Think! strip ran in the January 17, 1960 edition of the Chicago Tribune. Valuable…

Tech News Matt Novak

Spaceport of the Future (1957)

For those of you who haven’t yet checked out Plan59, I highly recommend it. The site has some amazing images of the paleo-future such as this Spaceport of the Future, as well as other vintage ephemera. I know I’ve seen this image somewhere but I can’t place it. Any idea where this image was originally…

Tech News Matt Novak

Schools on the Move (1982)

You’d need one hell of a permission slip for this field trip. Classes will never be boring on an airship traveling around the world! Imagine gliding over the Amazon River in South America or retracing Ulysses’ journeys through the Greek Islands. Picture what it would be like to hover over the Great Pyramids in Egypt…

Tech News Matt Novak

Railroads on Parade (1939)

The play Railroads on Parade was featured at the 1939/40 New York World’s Fair. It told the story of railroad transportation progress from the 1820s until 1939, and into the future. The photo below depicts a “woman of the future” from the cast and can be found in the book Dawn of a New Day,…

Tech News Matt Novak

Gyroscopic Rocket Car (1945)

Carl H. Renner painted this “Escacar” for General Motors in 1945. The Escacar is described as a “Unicycle Gyroscopic Rocket Car.” Like the painting of a commuter helicopter we looked at a few months ago, this image can be found in the Petersen Automotive Museum book, Driving Through Futures Past. I couldn’t find much information…

Tech News Matt Novak

Fruition of Ideals of Democracy (1923)

In a February 12, 1923 Bridgeport Telegram (Bridgeport, Connecticut) article Cordell Hull, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, bet on the survival of the American two-party system. That wasn’t a surprising prediction. What is somewhat surprising is that the assumed alternative was a one-party system. The principle of democracy being eternal, they will necessarily exist…

Tech News Matt Novak

Disney Calls Future a Thing of the Past (1997)

As I’ve argued before 1997 can be seen as the year that postmodern paleo-futurism went mainstream. Disney’s self-aware redesign of Tomorrowland meant that mainstream American culture was out of ideas for the future. It was as though the people at Disney were throwing up their hands and saying, “The year 2000 is just around the…

Tech News Matt Novak

Closer Than We Think! Robot Housemaid (1959)

This Closer Than We Think! strip ran in the September 13, 1959 Chicago Tribune. Unlike Rosie the Robot, this robotic housemaid floats on a cushion of air. The last paragraph describing, “a device to take food automatically from storage and cook it on a preset schedule,” sounds very similar to the food preparation system in…

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The Comfort of the Paleo-Future

LiveJournalist Blayne has an interesting analysis of why we may long for yesterday’s future. His take on paleo-futurism seems to be rooted in the comfort of the nostalgic. After the romantic innocence of retro-futurism is stripped away, you can see what drives our contemporary longing for imagined past-futures: Nostalgia, and a sincere desire for a…

Tech News Matt Novak

Garbage Men of the Future (1989)

This image is from Isaac Asimov’s book Space Garbage, published in 1989 as part of the Library of the Universe series. The caption to the image appears below. Low orbits are the most littered with space junk. Perhaps one day orbiting “garbage collectors” will be used to clean up these trash-filled orbits.

Tech News Matt Novak

Alcohol Unknown in 2022 (1923)

This 1923 prediction in the February 12 Bridgeport Telegram (Bridgeport, Connecticut) was written by William H. Anderson, New York Superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League. Mr. Anderson insists that by the year 2022 only the “abnormal, subnormal, vicious and depraved” will drink alcohol. Drink up you friendly degenerates! We only have a few years left! By…

Tech News Matt Novak

Matt Novak

Rebuilding Tomorrowland (1966)

LOLfutures

The Population Bomb: Scenario 3 (1970)

Frederick & Nelson Ad (1962)

Lives of Women to Improve (1923)

The Jetsons Car We’ve Been Waiting For?

More Predictions of a 14-Year-Old (1901)

Paleo-Future Wallpaper: Round 2

Longer Honeymoons, Happier Wives (1923)

Closer Than We Think! Polar Oil Wells (1960)

Spaceport of the Future (1957)

Schools on the Move (1982)

Railroads on Parade (1939)

Gyroscopic Rocket Car (1945)

Fruition of Ideals of Democracy (1923)

Disney Calls Future a Thing of the Past (1997)

Closer Than We Think! Robot Housemaid (1959)

The Comfort of the Paleo-Future

Garbage Men of the Future (1989)

Alcohol Unknown in 2022 (1923)

Why ‘For All Mankind’ Season 5 Is the Key to the Rest of the Series

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The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

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RayNeo Air 4 Pro Review: My Eyes Love These Video Glasses, but My Nose Disagrees