For as long as we’ve been able to, people have been making educated guesses about what the future might hold. Some of those guesses, as you’ll see from this gallery, are more educated than others.
While many predictions of the future from long ago are surprisingly accurate, hitting the nail on the head with video calls, home shopping by TV, and smart missiles, others completely miss the mark. What made somebody from 1900 think that in 100 years we’d be riding seahorses?
However, with all these "genetically modified animals" nowadays, maybe we will be riding seahorses sooner than we think.
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One artist painted this picture of a futuristic food delivery service. UberEats? 1940s.
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This magazine cover from 1954 theorizes that in the near future, people will invent a machine that can control the weather.
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This magazine cover from 1923 predicted that in the future people would own ‘electric dogs’. So cute!
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The ‘gyro-electric destroyer’ was a predicted weapon of war from a magazine in the 1910s.
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This magazine cover from 1918 predicted a video-calling device called a ‘telephot’.
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This piece depicting flying vehicles is titled “Leaving the opera in the year 2000”. 1882.
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A Soviet painting from the 1930s depicting a future with long, sleek cars and flying trains.
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This Time Magazine cover from 1956 predicted the invention of smart missiles. Not far off.
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A 1967 short film predicted that in the year 1999, women would use computers to plan out meals for their families.
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Shopping from home as imagined in the 1940s.
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Stores of the future won’t need doors. 1956.
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This artist predicted in 1976 that people in the future would be able to live in cylinder-shaped space stations.
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A concept from the 1970s of what air travel would look like in the future.
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City of the future, as imagined in 1908
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Fashions of 1950, as predicted by Life Magazine in 1914.
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A newspaper in 1934 predicted that in the future you’d be able to receive your news on TV– by just showing the newspaper pages on the screen.
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A concept of futuristic school from Japan, including a robot to punish misbehaving children. 1969.
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What people from 1956 thought phones might look like in the future
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People in the 1900s thought by the year 2000 we would be walking on lakes, supported by balloons.
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Divers will ride seahorses in the year 2000. 1899. Honestly, what were they thinking with this one?
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What school will look like in the 2000s, according to an artist from 1899. The book grinder is a little much, but honestly not far off.
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The year 2000 will have aerial firemen, according to this postcard from 1899.
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What an artist in 1899 thought a dressing room would look in the year 2000.
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A concept for a futuristic game room from the 1960s.
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In the year 2000, the mailman will fly around on a glider. 1899.
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In 1960, this artist predicted the future might have self-driving cars which freed up the passengers to play board games
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In 1899, they thought we would have flying taxis by the year 2000.
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A nuclear-proof underground city beneath Manhattan. 1969.
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Another prediction for the year 2000 that makes you say, “What were they thinking?”. 1899.
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In the year 2000, flying vehicles will be able to rescue people from sinking boats. It’s funny to think this felt futuristic. 1899.
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Forget flying cars, the year 2000 will have driving houses. 1899.
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A suspiciously Roomba-like cleaning robot. 1899
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“Life in 2022”, painted in 1962.
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An artist’s rendition of video calling, painted in 1930.
