Paleofuture.com
@paleofuture.com
Paleofuture.com is a website about past visions of the future. Written by paleofuture.bsky.social (Matt Novak)
The Real Story Behind Those Viral Time Magazine Covers About Global Cooling in the 1970s
The Real Story Behind Those Viral Time Magazine Covers About Global Cooling in the 1970s — Paleofuture
Have you ever seen those viral images on Twitter or Facebook that show Time magazine covers warning of global cooling ? I see them at least a few times a month, but I’m never sure whether they’re r...
paleofuture.com
The Summer Intern Who Ate His Lunch on a Nuclear Bomb in 1955
The Summer Intern Who Ate His Lunch on a Nuclear Bomb in 1955 — Paleofuture
If you came across the photo above, you probably wouldn’t think it was too consequential in the grand scheme of world events. But this photo is indeed historic. That man, sitting in the back of a wood...
paleofuture.com
Harry Butz and His Genius Idea For Movie Disks 100 Years Ago
Harry Butz and His Genius Idea For Movie Disks 100 Years Ago — Paleofuture
Physical media is an endangered species, with laserdiscs, DVDs, and even Blu-Rays joining the ranks of once-futuristic technology we don’t see much anymore. But the idea of playing a physical disk to ...
paleofuture.com
Things to Come: The 1940s Newspaper Comic That Gave Americans a Humorous Peek at Tomorrow
Things to Come: The 1940s Newspaper Comic That Gave Americans a Humorous Peek at Tomorrow — Paleofuture
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of futuristic newspaper comics from the 20th century. Strips like Our New Age by Athelstan Spilhaus and Closer Than We Think by Arthur Radebaugh are absolute...
paleofuture.com
Reagan-Era Futurists Thought Iran Would Get Nukes by 2020
Reagan-Era Futurists Thought Iran Would Get Nukes by 2020 — Paleofuture
Will Iran obtain a nuclear weapon? That's the hot-button question for the U.S. government as the United Nations General Assembly meets in New York this week. No one knows for sure, (except...
paleofuture.com
This Electric Car Ad From 1921 Asked Drivers To Be Brutally Honest With Themselves
This Electric Car Ad From 1921 Asked Drivers To Be Brutally Honest With Themselves — Paleofuture
At the turn of the 20th century, one-third of all cars produced in the U.S. were electric. By the 1920s, gasoline-powered cars had grown to dominate the market because they offered greater range and s...
paleofuture.com
If you subscribe to Paleofuture+ you received an email about the subscription newsletter and video perks shutting down today. Thank you to everyone who subscribed. Refunds are being issued. If you don't get a refund by Monday, please email matt@paleofuture.com.
1970s Doctor Predicted Elderly Would Have 'First Class Status' By 2025
1970s Doctor Predicted Elderly Would Have 'First Class Status' By 2025 — Paleofuture
Back in 1975, life expectancy in the U.S. was just 63.6 years for men and 72.3 for women, according to government statistics . The country has made significant progress since then, with the latest fi...
paleofuture.com
'I Think in 2025 Furbys Will Try to Conquer the Universe': How 1990s Kids Imagined the Year 2025
'I Think in 2025 Furbys Will Try to Conquer the Universe': How 1990s Kids Imagined the Year 2025 — Paleofuture
What will the future look like in the year 2025? It was a question about the distant future for those of us who were alive to remember the 20th century. But now that we’re a few weeks into that year, ...
paleofuture.com
How Newspapers Talked About Bitcoin in the Early 2010s
How Newspapers Talked About Bitcoin in the Early 2010s — Paleofuture
Back in 2014, I gave a talk at UCLA about the future of money that’s funny to think about now. Well, technically it was about the paleo -future of money. But the topic was particularly relevant in th...
paleofuture.com
The Follyphone and Our Ridiculous Future
The Follyphone and Our Ridiculous Future — Paleofuture
The future can be presented in a lot of ways. Sometimes we imagine it in the darkest of terms, a dystopian hellscape that shocks our sense of safety, making us fearful about what’s to come. Other time...
paleofuture.com
Elon Musk and the Political Profile That Did Not Age Well
Elon Musk and the Political Profile That Did Not Age Well — Paleofuture
Elon Musk spent at least $250 million to help re-elect Donald Trump as president this year, making him one of the most powerful oligarchs the U.S. has ever seen. Trump is a fascist and Musk unabashe...
paleofuture.com
This Airship Went Missing in 1889 and Was Never Seen Again
This Airship Went Missing in 1889 and Was Never Seen Again — Paleofuture
On the morning of July 18, 1889, Professor Edward D. Hogan went up in what can only be described for the time as a futuristic piece of airship technology, launching from Brooklyn, New York. Hogan had ...
paleofuture.com
Sterilization of 'Undesirables' Had Overwhelming Public Approval in the U.S. During the 1930s
Sterilization of 'Undesirables' Had Overwhelming Public Approval in the U.S. During the 1930s — Paleofuture
The U.S. and Canada both have long histories of forced sterilizations for people deemed “undesirable.” Roughly 70,000 Americans were sterilized in the 20th century, according to official figures , wi...
paleofuture.com
This Futuristic 'Water Sport Wheel' Doesn't Make Any Sense But It Sure Looks Fun Anyway
This Futuristic 'Water Sport Wheel' Doesn't Make Any Sense But It Sure Looks Fun Anyway — Paleofuture
Old futures are filled with ridiculous contraptions for getting around. You’ve got the automobile-powered yacht , the enormous four-legged mech-pedicab , and the gyroscopic rocket car , just to nam...
paleofuture.com
“Cooking perhaps will not be done at all on any large scale at home. At any rate it will be a much less disgusting process than it is to-day.”
A Thanksgiving Meal (in-a-pill) — Paleofuture
Many Americans celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow will have a meal centered around Ben Franklin’s favorite bird — the turkey. But if this cartoon from the September 19, 1926 Ogden Sta...
paleofuture.com
Amazing 1960s Predictions About Satellites, Email, and the Internet
Amazing 1960s Predictions About Satellites, Email, and the Internet — Paleofuture
The February 17, 1962 issue of the Sunday comic strip Our New Age envisioned the fantastic advancements that the introduction of satellites would allow.
paleofuture.com
I wrote about some of the time capsules scheduled to be opened in 2025. One has a 1975 Chevy Vega inside.
U.S. Time Capsules Scheduled to be Opened in 2025, Filled with Pogs, Money, and Even a Car — Paleofuture
Time capsules are fascinating to me. They can be incredibly boring, as people often stuff them with rather mundane items like coins, American flags, and bibles. But every once in a while they can be t...
paleofuture.com
U.S. Time Capsules Scheduled to be Opened in 2025, Filled with Pogs, Money, and Even a Car
U.S. Time Capsules Scheduled to be Opened in 2025, Filled with Pogs, Money, and Even a Car — Paleofuture
Time capsules are fascinating to me. They can be incredibly boring, as people often stuff them with rather mundane items like coins, American flags, and bibles. But every once in a while they can be t...
paleofuture.com
I love that some of the first in-flight movies had live orchestras playing on the ground via radio to accompany the silent movies passengers were watching
The First In-Flight Movies Had a Live Orchestra — Paleofuture
Soaring through the clouds in 1925, passengers on an Imperial Airways flight traveling over Germany were treated to a brand new novelty—one of the first in-flight movies. Even more astounding? The fil...
paleofuture.com
5 Old Ideas for the Internet That Can Help Us Imagine a Better Future
5 Old Ideas for the Internet That Can Help Us Imagine a Better Future — Paleofuture
We often think of the internet as a piece of infrastructure that cannot be changed. But people built the internet and all the devices we use to connect ourselves to it. People made conscious choices a...
paleofuture.com
What Tech Did Millennials Predict Would Be Obsolete by Now?
What Tech Did Millennials Predict Would Be Obsolete by Now? — Paleofuture
The year 2006 wasn’t that long ago in the grand scheme of things. But when you look back at the predictions of that time, it’s an interesting year, if only because it was just before the mainstream ex...
paleofuture.com
150 Years of Predictions About America's First Woman President
150 Years of Predictions About America's First Woman President — Paleofuture
U.S. senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was asked on the radio program “Who Said That?” in 1949 what she’d do if she woke up in the White House one day. The senator replied: “Well, I’d go straig...
paleofuture.com
What Inspired the Creators of The Jetsons?
What Inspired the Creators of The Jetsons? — Paleofuture
When I look back at the The Jetsons, a show that debuted in 1962 and lasted just one season during its first run, it’s easy to see how it inspired so many visions of the future that would occur in t...
paleofuture.com
Euphonia, the Incredible Speaking Machine of the 1840s (Which I Hope Is Real)
Euphonia, the Incredible Speaking Machine of the 1840s (Which I Hope Is Real) — Paleofuture
Last week OpenAI rolled out its new virtual assistant, dubbed Advanced Voice Mode, that allows users to have a conversation with an AI bot. There’s some controversy about the technology, not least b...
paleofuture.com
The 'Vaguely Ominous' Coffee Robot of 1967 That Was Going to Take Your Job
The 'Vaguely Ominous' Coffee Robot of 1967 That Was Going to Take Your Job — Paleofuture
When the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles featured a new “coffee robot” in October 1967, the newspapers covering it sounded both excited and terrified.
paleofuture.com
Have Astronauts Ever Voted for Donald Trump From Space?
Have Astronauts Ever Voted for Donald Trump From Space? — Paleofuture
The astronauts who are currently stuck in space thanks to Boeing's little mishaps will soon be voting in the upcoming U.S. presidential election between vice president Kamala Harris and convicted fe...
paleofuture.com
What the Failure of 3D-TV Can Tell Us About the Future of Tech Inevitability
What the Failure of 3D-TV Can Tell Us About the Future of Tech Inevitability — Paleofuture
When companies rolled out their latest technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in 2010, the most exciting new product on offer was the 3D-TV. Sony showed off the 3D-TV like it was the...
paleofuture.com
Was This 1943's Crime-Fighting Vehicle of the Future or Just a 'Glorified Jukebox'?
Was This 1943's Crime-Fighting Vehicle of the Future or Just a 'Glorified Jukebox'? — Paleofuture
The state of Illinois’ mobile crime lab was a 16-ton law enforcement vehicle that traveled the state in the 1940s, showing off the latest technology to police that was supposedly going to help them ...
paleofuture.com
Fixing the Broken Body of the Future, According to the 1980s
Fixing the Broken Body of the Future, According to the 1980s — Paleofuture
The world of organ transplants has come so far since the year 1954 when a kidney was transplanted between twins. But if you take a look at the predictions of the late 20th century, we’re not nearly ...
paleofuture.com