We’re pretty obsessed with imagining the future, even though we might get it wrong.
So were people back in 1900,
First designed for the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris, the postcards, designed by artist Jean-Marc Côté and others, are full of zany illustrations of how the French thought the year 2000 would look.
Some of them were eerily accurate, like the Roomba-like cleaning robot. Others are far from reality — probably not going to get whales to do our bidding anytime soon.
The depiction of rescues at sea isn’t that far off, all things considered.
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But croquet underwater — while it does look really fun — probably won’t take off.
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Despite what science fiction has been promising us, we still haven’t gotten those flying cars we crave.
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A very elegant sort of mobile home.
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But a robotic cleaner? Yeah, there’s a whole line of Roombas for that.
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This takes factory farming to a whole new level.
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Sadly, ladies are yet to have automated grooming.
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It’s like WhatsApp, but a little slower.
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Same for dudes. I’d probably go to a robo-barber.
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And a whale bus, alas, seems less and less likely.
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But a 3-D printed suit? That future of fashion is already starting to arrive.
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Why have Beats Radio when you can have Robot Orchestra?
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Bat-winged firefighters look pretty capable.
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As do these cops.
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And finally, podcasting.
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