Comic From 1913 Predicted Innovations for Newspapers of the Future
A lot of things were supposed to kill newspapers in the 20th century. There was radio, then TV, then the internet.…
Ban Everything: Concern Over Future Blue Laws During the Lead Up to Alcohol Prohibition
Anytime the government tries to ban something there are usually loud warnings about slippery slopes and guesses as to…
The Anti-Skyscraper Law That Shaped Sydney, Australia
When we look at visions of the future from the 20th century we often imagine the lone inventor or solitary artist…
Hello Mars -- This is the Earth!
Yesterday, we looked at Wernher von Braun's 1954 vision for a manned mission to Mars. But long before people imagined…
The bigger the box, the bigger the reward
This 1913 newspaper advertisement for The Arcade Bakery in Placerville, California insisted that the bigger the box…
Zipping from San Francisco to Oakland in 5 Minutes
Last week I had two friends from the Bay Area over to my apartment in Los Angeles. They recently moved to San Francisco…
Burbank's Aerial Monorail of the Future
The city of Burbank, California was incorporated in 1911 with a population of just 500. Today the population is just…
When We All Commute by Airplane
After the first successful powered flight by the Wright Brothers in 1903, it seemed like only a matter of time before…
10 Scariest Eco-Catastrophes from Early Science Fiction
These days, SF thrillers in which natural disasters end human life as we know it are mainstream fare. But long before…
The Mad Mentalists of Pre-Golden-Age SF
Paving the way for Vulcans, Slan, Espers, Professor X and Babylon 5's Lyta Alexander, SF writers of the Pre-Golden Age…
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…
The Super-est Supermen of Pre-Golden Age SF
Long before Alan Moore asked "Who will watch the Watchmen?" science fiction writers of the Pre-Golden Age (1904-33)…
The Coolest Robots of Pre-Golden Age SF
During science fiction's Pre-Golden Age (1904-33), writers dreamed up mechanical and quasi-organic humanoids so…
The Most Amazing Book Covers from Pre-Golden Age SF
Click to viewSome of the most gorgeous, evocative, and strange science fiction art you've ever seen comes from the…
The 10 Best Apocalypse Novels of Pre-Golden Age SF (1904-33)
With Wall-E director Andrew Stanton working on a film based on Edgar Rice Burroughs's 1917 novel A Princess of Mars,…
Science Fiction's Pre-Golden Age (1904-33), an Introduction
Earlier this year, I formulated an eccentric but strict periodization scheme, in which the Nineteen-Oughts (not to be…