1968 Predictions for the 21st Century

In 1968, predictions were made about the 21st Century. Some came true and was made into the realties we know today, some were just downright insane. DVICE came up with a list of five predictions that came true, and five that were outrageous and haven’t even been invented yet.

1. Online Shopping.

It’s so common for us to buy something online than going to the store, we can simply order on a site and have it shipped to us in one day to +four weeks.  In 1969, the idea was, ‘Instead of being jostled by crowds, shoppers electronically browse through the merchandise of any number of stores.”, and surely it came true.
2.  Home Computers

The prediction was, ‘“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.” In 2008 now, we have all those simple things on our computer and don’t think much about it. While those tools are useful, the household computer can do much more than that.

3.  Laptops, Tablet Computers, Email

The prediction was: “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. In the prediction they describe a file that you drew with your tablet pen and sending it attached to an email and sending it while you’re on a portable compute which we know as the laptop.

4. Space Tourism

Though not everyone has access to it. It is possible, and it has been done, “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.”

5.  Robot Labor

The prediction was, ‘Robots are available to do housework and other simple chores” In the 21st century, we have robots doing simple chores like cleaning our floors like the Roomba, or robotic limbs doing work on space stations, and other tasks like that.

Among the crazy ideas from those 1968 predictions came the ideas of 250 MPH self driving cars, domed balanced climate cities, modemixers, four hour work days (which just doesn’t happen), and the last of the almost daft ideas is automated doctor visits where the analysis can be determined only after two minutes in a chair.