Predictions From 40 Years Ago…That Came True

Predictions about the far off future don’t tend to work.  Newspapers, magazines, tv news programs are always tempted to take a stab.  Makes for some fun content.  DVICE has a good piece up about five predictions made 40 years ago about what life would look like today.  Some missed.  But interestingly, some were right on.  The predictions are those of science fiction writer James Berry in the November 1968 issue of Mechanix Illustrated.  Below are Berry’s 1968 predictions that he got sort of right (click for the ones that missed!): 

(Shopping online)

"Instead of being jostled by crowds, shoppers electronically browse through the merchandise of any number of stores."

(Computers everywhere)

"The single most important item in 2008 households is the computer… Computers also handle travel reservations, relay telephone messages, keep track of birthdays and anniversaries, compute taxes and even figure the monthly bills for electricity, water, telephone and other utilities."

(Computers…)

A business associate wants a sketch of a new kind of impeller your firm is putting out for sports boats. You reach for your attache case and draw the diagram with a pencil-thin infrared flashlight on what looks like a TV screen lining the back of the case."

(Space tourism)

"Another vacation is a stay on a hotel satellite. The rocket ride to the satellite and back, plus the vistas of earth and moon, make a memorable vacation jaunt."