Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

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 Jul 11

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 Jul 10

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 Jul 9

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 Jul 9

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 Jul 6

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…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 6

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 Jul 6

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 Jul 6

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 Jul 6

Just Imagine (1930)

The 1930 film Just Imagine depicts the futuristic world of 1980. With flying cars, food pills, and a totalitarian government the world is orderly but not much fun. This scene depicts the meal of the future. The prohibition reference is particularly funny. Many thanks to Amy Macnamara for this paleo-futuristic classic that hasn’t yet been…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 6

Man and the Moon filmstrip (1970s)

The filmstrip Man and the Moon depicts moon colonization as something just around the corner. A video clip of the filmstrip is below and can be found in its entirety at Droppin’ Science. (On a sidenote, the Droppin’ Science website says that Man and the Moon was produced before the first moon landing, which isn’t…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 3

Looks for Era of Brotherhood (1923)

Winifred G. Hedenberg laments the brutality of WWI in the February 12, 1923 Bridgeport Telegram (Bridgeport, Connecticut) article “Thinking Men and Women Predict Problems of World Century Hence.” The year 2022 will see a world reverted back to barbarism if another war on the scale of the so-called World War takes place within the next…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 3

Pears Soap Flying Machine (1906)

This fanciful flying machine was used to sell Pears’ Soap in the July, 1906 issue of the Atlantic Monthly Advertiser. This image can be found in the Smithsonian Institution Images Catalog. See also: Futuristic Air Travel (circa 1900) Aerial Navigation Will Never Be Popular (1906) Paleo-Future Wallpaper

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 2

Closer Than We Think! Headphone TV (1960)

Hacking the brain hasn’t caught on in consumer products quite yet, but we can see that it’s always been right around the corner. This Closer Than We Think! strip was found in the November 27, 1960 edition of the Chicago Tribune. Today’s television receivers may one day be replaced by devices that will “tickle” the…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 2

Work Days of Two Hours (1923)

Today’s section of the February 12, 1923 article, “Thinking Men and Women Predict Problems of World Century Hence,” was written by engineer Walter N. Polakov and predicts a future workday of just two hours. The engineer lives and works for tomorrow; today is but a stepping stone. The dreams of engineers – Frontinus, Da Vinci,…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 29

Futuristic Air Travel (circa 1900)

This painting by Harry Grant Dart is one of my favorite images of the paleo-future. According to the Library of Congress it was used as the cover for an issue of All Story magazine between 1900 and 1910. The most revolutionary aspect of this image may be the depiction of a woman at the wheel.…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 29

United States a British Colony (1923)

Author and critic Henry L. Mencken makes some pretty bold predictions in the February 12, 1923 article, “Thinking Men and Women Predict Problems of World Century Hence,” published in the Bridgeport Telegram (Bridgeport, Connecticut). A hundred years hence the United States will be a British colony, its chief function will be to supply imbeciles to…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 29

The Future of Real Estate (1953)

Steve over at Finkbuilt sent me a link to this great image of a couple buying a house in the (paleo)future. The publication appears to be from December, 1953. See also: Something must be wrong with its radar eye! (Chicago Tribune, 1959) Monsanto House of the Future (1957-1967) ‘Summer Terrace’ All Year Round (1960s)

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 29

GM Car of the Future (1962)

The advertisement below ran in the Official Souvenir Program for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. The ad proclaims that General Motors is, “setting a course for the future” by showcasing the “fully functional Firebird III space-age car.” The full text of the ad is transcribed below. Mobility – the easiest, fastest, surest kind possible –…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 28

Starfire (1994)

Today we have the 1994 Sun Microsystems concept video Starfire in its entirety. You can still access individual clips of the program from the links below or you can download the video here. See also: Starfire (Part 1, 1994) Starfire (Part 2, 1994) Starfire (Part 3, 1994) Starfire (Part 4, 1994) Starfire (Part 5, 1994)…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 27

Matt Novak

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)

Just Imagine (1930)

Man and the Moon filmstrip (1970s)

Looks for Era of Brotherhood (1923)

Pears Soap Flying Machine (1906)

Closer Than We Think! Headphone TV (1960)

Work Days of Two Hours (1923)

Futuristic Air Travel (circa 1900)

United States a British Colony (1923)

The Future of Real Estate (1953)

GM Car of the Future (1962)

Starfire (1994)

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