THINGS TO COME

Retrofuturistic Predictions: 10 Vintage Ideas That Eventually Came True

Image: Museums Victoria

Humans love to predict the future. The ability to imagine other possible worlds is probably what makes us human. None of the things we have been able to create throughout history, from pyramids to airplanes, would have been possible without first imagining them. During the 20th century, as the turn of the millennium approached, scientists, writers, and illustrators imagined technological innovations that, if they seemed outlandish at the time, were proven right years later. In this article, we have compiled 10 scientific prophecies that have come true.

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British writer and scientist Arthur C. Clarke not only fascinated the world with his science fiction stories but also anticipated with remarkable accuracy some of the most relevant technological advances in history. In October 1945, Clarke published an article exploring the possibility of using artificial satellites as communication stations.

Clarke predicted that one day communications would be carried by a network of three satellites placed at fixed intervals around the Earth's equator. Two decades later, NASA launched one of the first such satellites. Syncom 3 was used to relay images of the 1964 Olympic Games from Tokyo to the United States, providing the first television transmission across the Pacific Ocean.

Image: JJ Ying

Today we couldn’t conceive our lives without the Internet. It allows us to communicate with our loved ones over long distances, learn the news as soon as it happens, and it provide us with entertainment at all hours. Many have claimed to have predicted this invention, however, the one who came closest to describing what we know today as the Internet was Serbian American engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla.

In a 1909 interview with The New York Times, he described it almost perfectly. Although the Internet would not be invented until a few decades later, Tesla told the newspaper that in the future people would be able to listen, broadcast, and share speeches, songs, and images to the most remote parts of the planet through inexpensive devices operated from a single station. Pretty accurate, don’t you think?

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The first smartwatch, as we know it today, was launched in 2004, and it wasn't until 2015 that Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced the Apple Watch. However, this device already existed in the minds of people who imagined an interconnected future as early as the 1940s.

In January 1946, the popular comic strip about police detective Dick Tracy first featured the Two-Way Wrist Radio. The newspaper comic series featured Tracy talking through his watch, a concept that was totally revolutionary at the time. The device became an icon of the comic strip and is said it later inspired American engineer Martin Cooper in the development of the mobile phone.

Image: Vanessa Garcia

Between 1899 and 1910, a series of French postcards called "In the year 2000" —generally attributed to an artist named Jean-Marc Côté— attempted to portray what he imagined life might be like in the 21st century.

One of the most accurate predictions was the Cinéma-Phono-Télégraphique, a device very similar to what we know today as video calls. In this illustration, we see the image of a woman projected on a screen while the caller speaks to a receiver.

Throughout the rest of the century, there were several attempts to develop this technology. For example, in 1957, the Hughes company announced the Tonotron, which allowed calls to be made through a sort of television set. In the end, the Tonotron was not commercialized, yet retrofuturism was right in predicting systems such as FaceTime which are now essential to our daily lives.

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Many of the predictions portrayed in the French postcard series depict various forms of air transportation, most likely influenced by the technological developments that were taking place in the early 20th century. From flying policemen and firemen to air tennis and air hunting, many of these inventions have yet to become a reality, but what is close to happening is flying mail.

Well, to be fair, we're not going to see mailmen delivering letters while mounted on some sort of personal flying saddle reminiscent of the Wright Brothers' early airbikes. However, even though today handwritten letters are almost a thing of the past, we are already starting to see the first autonomous drones delivering packages right up to our doorsteps.

Image: Onur Binay

Like flying vehicles, automation is a cornerstone of futurism. Today we have robots that vacuum and scrub our homes and it seems like the most normal thing in the world. But, back in the early 1900s, some masterminds had already envisioned that before the end of the century, we would see electric and almost automatic brooms. These cleaning devices, however, would still depend on a person to give them directions and tell them where they had to clean.

Luckily, technology has surpassed the wildest fantasies of these retro-futurists, and now we can let our trusty vacuum robots do the dirty work while we go out for a walk. Though to be honest, it wouldn't be a bad thing to have a Rosie the Robot who not only cleaned but also talked to us in a Brooklyn accent!

Image: Michelangelo Buonarroti

In 1989, Back to the Future (Part II) showed the world an amazingly accurate version of a VR headset, worn by none other than Marty McFly. Today, virtual reality glasses are becoming increasingly popular and are here to stay. But did you know that different authors had already conceived of this idea in the early 20th century?

For example, Pygmalion's Spectacles is a science fiction short story by American author Stanley G. Weinbaum published in 1935. In it, a professor invents a pair of goggles that display a film that can be seen, heard, smelled, touched, and tasted. Not only that, the user becomes part of the story and is no longer a mere spectator. It may not sound like it, but this is not something for a promotional video of Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse; it is a tale imagined 90 years ago.

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In December 1960, Arthur Radebaugh, a famous American futurist illustrator, published his vision of what the classrooms of the future would look like. Teachers would no longer have to attend schools and would impart classes to several groups at the same time from a distant location. Each student would have a device with a camera, screen, and keyboard available to participate and ask questions.

Sixty-five years ago these predictions might have sounded far-fetched; however, remote classes through applications such as Zoom have become a reality, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Today this is a key resource that allows students to receive education even if they are in distant and remote parts of the world.

Image: Daniele La Rosa Messina

"Don't be surprised if many of tomorrow's homes are built on turntables. They would slowly pivot all day long to receive maximum benefit from health-giving sun rays and ensure heat in winter," reads another Radebaugh illustration published in 1959 in Toronto's The Star Weekly.

While the prediction of rotating houses has not come true, the cartoonist correctly anticipated the idea that homes would begin to harvest solar energy. Today many houses have solar panels installed on the roof providing electricity in a more sustainable way.

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In 1938, a few years before the first television broadcast, the British company Gramophone Co. announced its "Television Monocle", an individual device that would allow personal, uninterrupted television viewing. The device projected a 1.5 x 1-inch image from a cathode ray tube, which the viewer could see thanks to two mirrors placed inside at 45 degrees.

Although this invention did not prosper, we can consider it an ancestor of one of the many uses we nowadays give to our smartphones. Who hasn't streamed a film or a video on their phone to kill time during a long trip? We have retro-futurists to thank!

Be prepared to read many Italian words

Can you tell a latte from a macchiato? 10 barista coffee names explained

Image: Frank Leuderalbert

There was a time when coffee was coffee, everywhere we went. Cup o’ Joe, java, wake-up juice, you name it, it was pretty much all the same beverage. And then, specialty coffee barista bars appeared and things got more complicated. Whether you walk into a Starbucks or any other coffee shop, the list can be intimidating. The following ten are some of the most common suspects. How many of these have you tried?

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We start our coffee list with maybe the most famous representative: the espresso. This beverage is a concentrated type of coffee made with specially roasted beans and an espresso machine.

Finely ground beans are packed into a portafilter, which is then locked into the base of the espresso machine. Very high pressure (a necessity for espresso) forces water through the packed grounds to pull one- or two-ounce shots of creamy, thick espresso. The only difference between espresso and coffee is in the beans and the brewing methods.

Image: Lex Sirikiat

The Italian word for milk, latte is not actually a coffee drink. A latte or caffè latte is a milk coffee that boasts a silky layer of foam. A true latte will be made up of one or two shots of espresso, steamed milk, and a final, thin layer of frothed milk on top.

On the other hand, the caffe latte often has less foam than a cappuccino and is usually served in a taller cup or glass. A caffe latte is an espresso with milk. In Italy, a Caffe is an espresso. Latte is milk. Ideally served with latte art on top and not too much foam.

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A latte macchiato is slightly different. Macchiato means marked or stained. A latte macchiato is a milk marked with an espresso. It has the same ingredients as a caffe latte but it is made and looks different. A good latte macchiato is served in a tall glass and has distinctive layers between the foam, espresso, and milk with the foam on top, espresso below the foam, and milk at the bottom.

Image: Jez Timms

Another famous Italian coffee name, cappuccino is an espresso-based coffee drink that is traditionally prepared with steamed milk including a layer of milk foam. Other versions involve the use of cream instead of milk, non-dairy milk substitutes, and flavoring with cocoa powder or cinnamon.

It is typically smaller in volume than the latte we just described and topped with a thick layer of foam rather than being made with microfoam.

The name comes from the Capuchin friars, referring to the color of their habits, and in this context, referring to the color of the beverage when milk is added in small portion to dark, brewed coffee.

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Maybe not a coffee 100% but it makes an appearance on this list because it is an extremely ubiquitous item in coffee shops. The affogato is a dessert made with two main ingredients: vanilla ice cream and espresso. Originally invented in Italy, the word "affogato" literally translates as "drowned" in English. This is fitting, as the affogato is no more than a scoop of ice cream "drowned" in espresso.

While it is mainly viewed as a dessert, some restaurants and cafés in Italy still categorize the affogato as a beverage.

Image: Lex Sirikiat

In case anyone was wondering, yes, Americano is the Italian word for American. An Americano coffee is made by pouring hot water over one or two espresso shots, resulting in a drink of similar volume and strength to regular coffee.

The key to an Americano is that it starts with espresso and adopts the flavors and aromas of the espresso, but with a less powerful taste.

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A close cousin of the espresso, a ristretto is an espresso shot. It uses less hot water which creates a sweeter flavor compared to the bitter taste of a traditional shot of espresso or a doppio.

Ristretto means "restricted." Ristretto is all about quality over quantity. When less hot water is forced through the finely ground coffee beans, the result is a more concentrated flavor. The coffee tastes sweeter and less bitter because of the shorter extraction time.

Image: Mick Haupt

The first non-Italian entry in this list consists of black coffee, whiskey, and sugar, topped with whipped cream. Many drinks of hot coffee with a distilled spirit, and cream floated on top are given names derived from Irish coffee, although the names are not standardized.

Irish cream coffee can be considered a variant of Irish coffee but involves the use of Irish cream as a "pre-mixed" substitute for the whisky, cream, and sugar.

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Think of a cappuccino without the foam or chocolate sprinkle. Basically, a flat white is an espresso drink with steamed milk. It generally has a higher proportion of espresso to milk than a caffè latte and lacks the thick layer of foam in a cappuccino. While the origin of the flat white is unclear, various café owners in Australia and New Zealand claim its invention.

Image: Yosuke Ota

The second non-Italian name on the list, Café au lait is French for "coffee with milk". It is coffee with hot milk added. It differs from white coffee, which is coffee with cold milk or other whiteners added. In many American coffeehouses, a café au lait is a drink of strong drip brewed or French-pressed coffee, to which steamed milk is added. American café au lait is generally served in a cup, as with brewed coffee.