It Will Never Be Able to Protect Our Art and Mobility
10 mobility predictions that were dead wrong
by Nuria McCrea-Grifoll
Humans are curious past nature. For decades, or even a few millennia, nosotros have wanted to know what the future has in store for us. From undersea colonies to declaring automobiles a fad, here are some of the virtually interesting mobility predictions that would later bear witness false. Hilariously false at times.
Making predictions about the time to come is not limited to great minds or reputable publications. Anybody can have a guess on what the time to come may look like, particularly on a topic that is so pertinent to everybody'due south daily lives: mobility. For centuries, people take wondered whether we may find better, faster or more heady ways to travel. We have asked ourselves if nosotros can overcome distances and boundaries. And we have envisaged living on other planets. Are predictions only lucky guesses? Hindsight is twenty/20, but it can be entertaining to look back on what in one case was predicted for the hereafter of mobility.
i. 1823: rail travel and high speed won't ever mix well
Before we had cars, planes and space shuttles, there were trains. Rather irksome trains we may add, as the maximum speed in 1830 was 48 km/h (xxx mph). Information technology comes as no surprise that Dr Dionysius Lardner, a professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy, did not deem feasible a high-speed railroad train to comport its passengers safely: "Rail travel at high speed is not possible, because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxia." If merely he could run into that present the maximum operating speed of a Japanese bullet train is 320 km/h (200 mph) – and passengers seem to be but fine.
2. 1900: a German visitor's take on the hereafter of mobility
At the beginning of the 20th century, the German language confectionery visitor "Hildebrand Kakao- und Schokoladenfabrik GmbH" took a stab at predicting the future during an ad campaign. The advertising cards showed what they envisaged the world to await similar in a hundred years' time. Walking on water with wooden boots, trains that are amphibious ("railway boats") or individualised flying machines for each and every i were just some of the mobility visions of the company.
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In 1900, a German company designed pictures of the earth in 2000. Visionary artwork or just an attention-grabbing ad campaign? Source: Unknown, via Wikimedia Commons
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In 1900, a German language visitor designed pictures of the globe in 2000. Visionary artwork or simply an attention-grabbing ad campaign? Source: Unknown, via Wikimedia Commons
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In 1900, a High german company designed pictures of the world in 2000. Visionary artwork or simply an attention-grabbing advert campaign? Source: Unknown, via Wikimedia Commons
3. 1900: French artists' futuristic predictions for 2000
Around the aforementioned time as the German advertizing entrada was running, several French artists created a series of futuristic pictures that were initially enclosed in cigarette boxes and were afterward sold as postcards. Flying taxis – and then-called aero cabs – with their corresponding docking stations were one of the predictions. And when y'all live in a earth with aero cabs, there is definitely a demand for the aviation police to ensure traffic safe in the air. An even more bizarre prediction was the whale bus, a submarine pulled by a whale. Well, information technology seems like these artists were pretty optimistic well-nigh our futurity (whale) taming skills.
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Initially created for the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris, a series of postcards depicted the world in 2000. By JVillemard, via Wikimedia Commons
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Initially created for the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris, a series of postcards depicted the world in 2000. Past JVillemard, via Wikimedia Commons
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Initially created for the 1900 Globe Exhibition in Paris, a serial of postcards depicted the world in 2000. By JVillemard, via Wikimedia Commons
4. 1903: horses vs automobiles
"The horse is hither to stay only the automobile is merely a novelty – a fad." The President of the Michigan Savings Bank did not know dorsum then that in the future it would exist exactly the other way around: seeing a horse-fatigued carriage these days is somewhat of a novelty. Fortunately, Henry Ford'due south lawyer didn't listen to this advice and invested $five,000 in the newly formed motor visitor. The initial investment speedily turned into $12.5 million.
5. 1920: imagining infinite travel was out of question
A New York Times article completely dismissing the possibility of space travel wrote in 1920: "A rocket will never be able to leave the Earth's atmosphere: After the rocket quits our air and really starts on its longer journey, its flying would be neither accelerated nor maintained by the explosion of the charges information technology then might have left." When the Apollo 11 headed to the moon in 1969, the paper issued a retraction of its original commodity. Rightly then.
six. 1939: cars without drivers
We are virtually in that location, but not quite: the prediction of the cocky-driving auto has been on the tabular array for nearly lxxx years. And while cars are undoubtedly getting smarter and better, the day that we will buy a cocky-driving car is a lot further away than we probably think. An exhibitor'south prediction at the 1939 World's Fair in New York is not wildly wrong, but our expressways are yet to be filled with cars controlled by radio from a central tower, as they had envisaged it. At to the lowest degree not for now.
seven. 1964: colonies on the moon and underwater, and other visionary scenarios for 2024
Will nosotros be living in colonies on the moon or underwater past 2024? Highly unlikely. Sponsored past General Motors and presented at the New York Earth's Off-white of 1964, the Futurama 2 exhibition and ride showcased a possible vision of the world 60 years into the time to come. Aquacopters and lunar rovers were just two of the futuristic vehicles that were featured in the undersea and moon sets. Equally interesting was the idea that by 2024 we would be spending our holidays at Hotel Atlantis, at the bottom of the bounding main.
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At the 1964 Earth's Fair in New York, the visitors went on a ride to learn about General Motors' vision of the future. Source: Flickr
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At the 1964 World's Off-white in New York, the visitors went on a ride to learn about General Motors' vision of the hereafter. Source: Flickr
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At the 1964 World's Fair in New York the visitors went on a ride to learn about Full general Motors' vision of the future. Source: Flickr
8. 1966: Reader'due south Digest Book predicts life in 1999
Moving sidewalks, climate-controlled cities and rocket belts for people to wing in a higher place everything: a Reader's Digest event from 1966 wooed the readers with its spectacular vision of the future. Titled "When You Grow Up", the article explained in groovy detail what life may be like in the yr 1999. They also prophesied high-speed send – at least one of the predictions came true.
ix. 1968: infinite travel to become the norm past 2001
The film manufacture has never shied abroad from predicting what the future may hold for us. However, some films are doing a better job than others – but the ones that were incorrect at least captivated their audience with entertaining - admitting ludicrous - visions of the future. So maintained Stanley Kubrick'south 2001: A Space Odyssey that past the 21st century, space travel and moon colonies would be part of our everyday life.
x. 1989: Flying cars should be the norm by now
Permit's stay with the Hollywood theme: when Marty McFly and Doc Brown fourth dimension-travelled from 1989'south Back to the Future Function 2 to save the future Marty in 2015, flying cars and air skateboards – the famous Hover Board – were some of the main transport means. What for many people seemed to be a afar hereafter prediction is now several years in the past. And there are no flying cars or air skateboards in sight. At all.
So whether predictions are self-fulfilling prophesies, lucky punches or well-idea-out theories, people will always wonder what the future may look like next twelvemonth, in a decade or a century. And people will always make predictions. Specially people like tech mogul Elon Musk. He actually predicts that his space company will accept a 1000000 people to Mars by the end of the century. Where will they work and live? In a self-sustaining city, of course.
What do you recollect: will this bold prediction turn out to be wildly incorrect or spot on?
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Source: https://www.juliusbaer.com/en/insights/energy-transition/10-mobility-predictions-that-were-dead-wrong/