The Future is Now….

In the 21^stcentury we have flying cars, hover boards, capsules that create steak dinners by adding water, colonies on the moon, and – wait. None of this is true? That's right, looks like sci fi writers, scientists, futurists, and countless Jetsons fans have probably found themselves disappointed by 2013's lack of jet packs and crime free societies. But it's not allbad, right? Right?

"These large tubes were thought to be the norm in future crime fighting. This 'people sniffer" will identify criminals by their scent! Copyright CBS"

I personally, love anything sci fi or dealing with the history of the future (aka what people of the past thought the future was going to be), so I was really excited this summer when, working at the Wisconsin Center of Film and Theater Research, I was able to watch, describe, and catalog the classic show hosted by Walter Cronkite, The 21^st Century (1967-1968). The show centered on what professionals of various industries believed the 21^stcentury would bring for the residents of the world. Watch this video clip where Cronkite shows what a home of the future will look like: 

Sometimes they got it right. For instance, it was predicted that every home in the 21^stcentury would have a computer for work, education, and cat memes (okay, Cronkite probably wasn't prepared for the amount of cat .gifs to come, but who could have predicted the Internet's obsession with cats?). The show also foresaw GPS navigation in cars, faster and more secure air travel, men (and women) landing on the moon, the use of radiation against cancer cells, cleaning robots (Hello, Roomba!), and just the overall importance of computers in the 21^stcentury.

Why aren't we all sporting these "space fashions?" Let's get on this, America. Copyright CBS

Luckily there were some things that they were wrong about. Like when it was proposed that we might use skyscrapers as a way of growing and harvesting animals (not like modern animal farms are anything to be proud of, but seriously? Skyscrapers?!). Another scary, but-not-put-into-practice idea was the use of laundry detergent-like foam that would be used as riot control. The foam would engulf the crowd above their heads and makes it so they could not see or move easily. One police officer even stated that he hoped that the foam would be infused with mace for an even more sinister weapon.

So, while we may not have flying cars (yet), I'm actually kind of glad that not all predictions came true. The show centered was on science, entertainment, and industries, but it also centered on imagination. Even though we may not have it all, it's always fun to imagine the way life will be in the future.

Any predictions for the 22^nd century?

-Jamie Stanaway