New articles from Paleofuture
Retrofuture legend Bruce McCall passes away, a stunning film from 1967 shows Disneyland's new version of Tomorrowland, and we explore wild predictions for TV technology from 1925.
Stunning Film Captures Tomorrowland's Reopening at Disneyland in 1967
First opening in 1955, Disneyland’s Tomorrowland had become stale by the mid-1960s, and didn’t properly reflect the massive technological changes that were happening at the time, with humanity on the cusp of the Space Age. So Disney made major changes, adding rides like Adventures Thru Inner Space, America The Beautiful, the Carousel of Progress, Flight To The Moon, the Peoplemover, and Rocket Jets, among other attractions. And there’s newly digitized newsreel footage that provides a fascinating peek at the reopening of Tomorrowland in 1967.
How Ford Motor Company Became the Largest Movie Distributor in the World in the 1910s
Mention the Ford Motor Company’s early years and many Americans will probably think about the innovation of the assembly line or the $5 work day. But there’s one aspect of Ford’s strategy in the 1910s that isn’t remembered much in the popular imagination anymore: Movies.
Bruce McCall, Retrofuture Artist and 'Visual Poet of American Gigantism', Dies at 87
Bruce McCall, an artist known for his satirical look at the retrofuture, has died at the age of 87, according to a new report from the New York Times. McCall had Parkinson’s disease, according to his wife, Polly McCall.
Wild Predictions For TV Technology From 100 Years Ago
It’s no secret that I’m fascinated by the history of TV. It was a medium that held so much potential when it was first imagined. Recently, we even looked at predictions from 1944, back when television was an experiment just waiting for World War II’s government-imposed limitations on consumer technology to end. But what about the predictions that predate even the first public demonstration of TV in 1926?
FAA Releases New Video About Air Taxi Routes of the Future
The Federal Aviation Administration released a new video on Wednesday showing how air taxis of the future might operate. Is this the future of flying cars we were promised? Not quite. At least not yet.
Terrible Predictions About Covid-19, the Pandemic That's Supposed to be Over
I tested positive for covid-19 a few days ago and it’s probably the second time I’ve gotten the disease in the past two months. I say “probably” because the last time I was really sick I only took one covid test on the first day I felt awful. It was negative, but then I continued to feel terrible and had a cough that lasted two weeks. This time, I learned my lesson, at least when it comes to testing. The first test I took was negative, just like last time. But on my second day of feeling like I was hit by a truck I took another home test. It was positive.
'Small But Containable' Nuclear Wars Predicted by Newsweek in 1969
Back in January of 1969, the world of technology was on the cusp of some incredible achievements. The U.S. was about to put the first humans on the Moon in July 1969, the first home smoke detectors were about to be approved, and the first Arpanet connection would happen in October 1969, ushering in the first baby steps of the internet revolution.
Larry Roberts and the Early Blueprint For the Internet
When we think of the people in history who helped build the internet, we often think of Vint Cerf and Tim Berners-Lee, two master self-promoters. But there are so many other names you probably haven’t heard, like computer scientist Larry Roberts, who died in 2018. Roberts was instrumental in creating the Arpanet, the precursor to the modern internet, and his early papers are an interesting peek at the future that would take decades to arrive.
First Graders Predicted Robot Cowboys of the Future in 1988
The predictions of kids can offer a unique view of any given era’s hopes and concerns for the future. And it’s interesting to see how kids of the 1980s imagined their own futures, which were supposed to be filled with robots that could do everything from emptying the dishwasher to helping with your homework.
Predictions For Moon Mining Have Been Around Since Before Humans Ever Set Foot On the Lunar Surface
Millions of Americans opened their Sunday morning newspapers in 1958 to find an interesting prediction for the future. Right there in the funnies was a colorful depiction of how humans would one day be mining the moon for precious minerals. And it was all supposed to be just over the horizon.