chicago tribune

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

Closer Than We Think! Throw-Away Clothes (1959)

Apparently the ability to throw away your clothes is worthy of more attention than the commuter helicopters everyone’s flying around in the future. This strip ran in the October 25, 1959 Chicago Tribune. Do your clothes need to be cleaned or washed? Are you tired of the old patterns or colors? In the future, if…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 19

Closer Than We Think! Fish Bowl Swimming Pool (1958)

More often than not, Arthur Radebaugh’s brilliant series Closer Than We Think! makes practical sense. However, this image which ran in the July 13, 1958 Chicago Tribune, threw me for a loop (cringe-inducing pun intended). Today’s spectators can see beneath the surface of a swimming pool only through windows or portholes below the water line.…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 15

Closer Than We Think! Polar City (1959)

The January 25, 1959 Chicago Tribune ran this picture of the “Polar City of the Future” as a part of the Closer Than We Think! series. As Alaska joins the union, more rapid development of the vast open spaces of that new state can be expected. Experts are already studying the problems involved in creating…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 12

Sinclair Lewis Will Be Read Until Year 2000 (1936)

The December 5, 1936 Chicago Daily Tribune ran a short article titled, “Sinclair Lewis Put First As Author to be Read Until 2000.” Below is the article in its entirety. I’ve added links to the Wikipedia page for each author mentioned. Sinclair Lewis is the American author of the present day whose books are most…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 7

The Electronic Brain Made Beef Stew (1959)

Today we have the thrilling conclusion to the September 13, 1959 Chicago Tribune article, “Call a Service Man: This Cry Will Still Be Heard in Year 2000.” For lunch we eat scrambled eggs, prepared manually. Following lunch, still a bit unnerved by the sight of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches sticking to the ceiling, I…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 5

Closer Than We Think! Lunar Mailbag (1960)

This Closer Than We Think! strip ran in the December 25, 1960 Chicago Tribune. Chistmas cards of the future may be transmitted electronically. The post office is studying the use of space technology for quick movement of endless quantities of mail between widely separated points. To do this, microwave stations would be set up. Envelopes…

Tech News Matt Novak May 30

Closer Than We Think! Monoline Express (1961)

Arthur Radebaugh’s Closer Than We Think! strip for the May 21, 1961 Chicago Tribune envisioned a Monoline Express of the future. Below is the text of the strip. Two ideas now being developed in Detroit – an automatic highway and a high-speed monorail bus system – are combined in the concept of the Monoline Express,…

Tech News Matt Novak May 24

Year 2000 Time Capsule (1958)

The June 10, 1958 edition of the Chicago Daily Tribune ran an article about predictions for Chicagoland and the world. The predictions were sealed in a time capsule and supposed to be opened in the year 2000. Below is an excerpt from the article as well as a copy of the piece in its entirety.…

Tech News Matt Novak May 24

Closer Than We Think! (1958-1963)

In 1958 Arthur Radebaugh started the syndicated Sunday comic Closer Than We Think! It ran in newspapers until early 1963. The strip really epitomizes the optimistic brand of futurism so common in the post-WWII era. Below are a few great examples of this paleo-futuristic strip from the Chicago Tribune. Push-Button Education – May 25, 1958…

Tech News Matt Novak May 17

Waitress of the Year 2000 (1939)

The photo below ran in the May 7, 1939 Chicago Daily Tribune. What the waitress of the year 2000 may wear. Marjorie Hannon, W-G-N actress, models this costume, designed by the National Restaurant association for exhibit during Restaurant week, May 8 to 14. That metallic hair ribbon is an antenna for ultra shortwave radio which…

Tech News Matt Novak May 11

In 50 Years: Cars Flying Like Missiles! (Chicago Daily Tribune, 1959)

The Chicago Daily Tribune ran an article in their April 26, 1959 edition proclaiming, “In 50 Years: Cars Flying Like Missiles!” Below is an excerpt from the piece. Can you imagine an autoist driving up to a “gas” station 50 years from now and receiving replacement energy capsules for his car instead of getting a…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 27

Startling Changes in Housing in Year 2000 (Chicago Tribune, 1961)

The Chicago Tribune ran an article in their July 22, 1961 issue titled, “An Expert Foresees Startling Changes in Housing in Year 2000.” The article outlined the revolutionary changes that we would see by the year 2000. What will our homes be like in the year 2000? This question was the basis for some long…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 25

Predicts Conventions in Space by Year 2000 (Chicago Tribune, 1965)

The June 15, 1965 edition of the Chicago Tribune contained a great prediction from a Chicago real estate broker about the year 2000: By the year 2000, business conventions will be held at interplanetary “cosmotels,” to which most delegates will travel in their own family “volkscapsules” or “satellacs,” Walter P. Kuehnle, a Chicago real estate…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 19

Age 75 to Be Noon of Life in Year 2000 (Chicago Daily Tribune, 1925)

The March 10, 1925 article from the Chicago Daily Tribune titled, Age 75 to Be Noon of Life in Year 2000, begins with a fictional news story from the year 2000: Washington, D.C.- [Special.] – Gen. Harry Doe, known in the army as “Light Horse Harry,” was killed late today when struck by an automobile…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 11

Something must be wrong with its radar eye! (Chicago Tribune, 1959)

Part two of the September 13, 1959 Chicago Tribune article Call a Serviceman: This Cry Will Still Be Heard in Year 2000 offers more paleo-future goodness. To bring you up to speed, our housewife of the future has just heard the yelps of her poodle Fifi as it is being attacked by the futuristic vacuum…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 10

Miss A.D. 2000 (Chicago Tribune, 1952)

While browsing the Chicago Tribune archives this past weekend I came across this feature from May 4, 1952. It highlights fashion designs from Jacques Heim, Marcel Rochas, Madame Carven and Jacques Griffe. “What will women wear in the year 2000? A photographer put the question to leading Paris couturiers, who took the wraps off their…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 4

Population Close to “Standing Room Only” (Chicago Tribune, 1899)

The April 30, 1899 Chicago Tribune article, “Population Close to ‘Standing Room Only'” seems like it could be written today with just a few dates and statistics changed. Much like the fear of population growth we’ve explored in Paul Ehrlich’s 1968 book The Population Bomb, the article warns of a dangerous population explosion. If the…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 2

Call a Serviceman (Chicago Tribune, 1959)

In the September 13, 1959 edition of the Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine Evelyn Zemke wrote an amusing piece about her vision for housewives of the future. Below is an excerpt from the first part of her story. “Call a service man,” my husband always says when one of our appliances refuses to function. Sounds simple…

Tech News Matt Novak Mar 27

Resident Badass Charlie White Gets Profiled In The Chicago Tribune

Our Associate Editor Charlie White is a household name in Chicago now, and not just for being the inspiration for the chase scene in Batman Begins when Charlie set a new land-speed record down the Magnificent Mile in 2002. The Chicago Tribune has a profile of all the 23,000 things Charlie manages to cram into…

Tech News Jason Chen Aug 7

Closer Than We Think! Headphone TV (1960)

Closer Than We Think! Throw-Away Clothes (1959)

Closer Than We Think! Fish Bowl Swimming Pool (1958)

Closer Than We Think! Polar City (1959)

Sinclair Lewis Will Be Read Until Year 2000 (1936)

The Electronic Brain Made Beef Stew (1959)

Closer Than We Think! Lunar Mailbag (1960)

Closer Than We Think! Monoline Express (1961)

Year 2000 Time Capsule (1958)

Closer Than We Think! (1958-1963)

Waitress of the Year 2000 (1939)

In 50 Years: Cars Flying Like Missiles! (Chicago Daily Tribune, 1959)

Startling Changes in Housing in Year 2000 (Chicago Tribune, 1961)

Predicts Conventions in Space by Year 2000 (Chicago Tribune, 1965)

Age 75 to Be Noon of Life in Year 2000 (Chicago Daily Tribune, 1925)

Something must be wrong with its radar eye! (Chicago Tribune, 1959)

Miss A.D. 2000 (Chicago Tribune, 1952)

Population Close to “Standing Room Only” (Chicago Tribune, 1899)

Call a Serviceman (Chicago Tribune, 1959)

Resident Badass Charlie White Gets Profiled In The Chicago Tribune

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