Wednesday, January 11, 2012

1900s Future Gazing

In an issue of Ladies Home Journal published in 1900, an author made predictions of what the world would be like in the year 2000. Surprisingly, many of them were spot-on.

Open fires and chimneys will be replaced by home heating and air conditioning systems, with hot or cold air at the turn of a "spigot" (faucet or tap.)

Stores will buy food ingredients in bulk and prepare ready-cooked meals at cheap prices which people can reheat at home. Customers will also be able to get meals delivered by automobile. (That said, Watkins also suggested food could be delivered to homes via pneumatic tubes, and that customers would send back the crockery and cutlery when they finished eating.)

Color photos will be sent around the world, with images shot in China appearing in US newspapers within an hour.

Read more at Geeks Are Sexy, where the predictions are sorted by whether they came true or were way off the mark.

http://www.neatorama.com/2012/01/11/1900s-future-gazing/