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The Wonderful Future That Never Was book cover
The Wonderful Future That Never Was
Flying Cars, Mail Delivery by Parachute, and Other Predictions from the Past
2010
First Published
3.44
Average Rating
208
Number of Pages

Between 1903 and 1969, scientists and other experts made hundreds of predictions in Popular Mechanics magazine about what the future would hold. Their forecasts ranged from ruefully funny to eerily prescient and optimistically utopian. Here are the very best of them, culled from hundreds of articles, complete with the original, visually stunning retro art. They will capture the imagination of futurists in the same way Jules Verne's writing did a century earlier. Every chapter features an introduction by astrophysics professor, science-fiction author, and former NASA advisor Gregory Benford. PAST PREDICTIONS OF OUR FUTURE INCLUDE: o Skyscrapers so tall they'll have their own climate o Underground pneumatic tubes to replace garbage trucks o Rooftop lakes that serve as air conditioning systems o Clothes made from asbestos and aluminum o Mail sorted by robots and delivered by parachutes

Avg Rating
3.44
Number of Ratings
257
5 STARS
16%
4 STARS
31%
3 STARS
38%
2 STARS
13%
1 STARS
2%
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Authors

Gregory Benford
Gregory Benford
Author · 44 books

Gregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. As a science fiction author, Benford is best known for the Galactic Center Saga novels, beginning with In the Ocean of Night (1977). This series postulates a galaxy in which sentient organic life is in constant warfare with sentient mechanical life.

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