13 Future Predictions That Were So Wrong People Would Probably Regret Saying Them
Throughout history, there have been many prophecies about the future, and some were incredibly accurate. One of the most famous ‘seer’s’ was Nostradamus, a French physician and astrologer who foresaw such historical facts as the French Revolution, both World Wars and even the death of Princess Diana. Although his story may seem unbelievable, so many people have failed to match his predictions’ success that it makes you wonder. This “Timeline Of Very Bad Future Predictions” created by Infographic shows the worst predictions in history, and it’s safe to say these futurists weren’t as good as they thought. From ‘the telephone won’t succeed as a form of communication’ prophecy to ‘the Internet won’t replace newspapers,’ it’s unbelievable how wrong these funny facts were.
Scroll down to see more funny history predictions, and if you know of some more, don’t forget to tell us in the comments!
More info: Infographic.city
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Some people must have/had regrets about not noticing good investments (people have always more regrets about ignoring a way to make money than a good idea)... like publishers refusing J. K. Rowling manuscripts
Me at the start of the BitCoin when 100 BTC were less than 10$....
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They forgot every teacher up until 2000 "You're not going to have a calculator everywhere you go."
Oh wow ... so true. So significant yet looks so insignificant. Never thought I'd have multiple ways of getting math answer on my person when ever I am awake.
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What I have learned here is: Do not predict that something WON'T happen - especially that something won't ever be useful. The lesson from history is that any new technology is very likely to be improved upon until it is practical, even if it didn't start out that way.
Agreed. Also, doesn't Murphy's Law say something like "Whatever can happen, will."?
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It's easy to read these examples and chuckle at them as they are so mainstream these days, we can't imagine life without them. Imagine what it took to make the light bulb practical. Power plants needed to be built, power lines strung all across the landscape, buildings wired for electricity. New technologies needed to be created and businesses built in order for a small glass globe and a piece of filament to be practical. When you think about all that, it's easy to see why some had their doubts. The time, effort and money involved could seem insurmountable. On the other hand, how many inventions had their potential oversold? The Segway was going to change society. We were going to have to redesign cities to accommodate all of them. Google Glass was going to change the way humans interact with technology. You never know what the public is going to embrace or ignore. I bought an eggtastic for a $1 at Dollar Tree and I'm surprised that there isn't one of these in every home.
Interesting points. One overarching take away though is that we shouldn't assume the current paradigms of society are permanent, or that current tech limitations will never be overcome. Cars took over from horses in part b/c their quality on speed, smoothness and reliability improved a ton over their first few decades. If a proposed new technology like reusable rockets or solar shingles can just keep being improved then the claim that it will become significant seems more plausible. On the other hand there are some changes people don't want; when it just felt too weird or dystopian for people to walk around in Google Glasses, no amount of tech improvements to it or marketing could change that.
Load More Replies... Also, the then Director of the US Patent office, some time in the 1890s said (at one of the world's fairs I think): 'There will be no more significant inventions.' At the same event the US Postmaster General, when asked if mail carriers would ever get cars, said: 'Your mail will always be delivered by a horse and buggy.' And in 1995 some guy wrote a long article for Wired explaining how 'the internet probably wouldn't grow much more in popularity.'
If history tells you one thing, than it is that technological progress cannot be stopped, and neglecting it is folly. But then, if the next newspaper mentioned billions spent on space flights, people lurk out from everywhere asking "Where will this help me now?". Well, folly.
I shall now be inserting "folly" into my daily language.
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for their time they were not wrong.But science is advancing with great steps.Εven today some issues which we consider to be certain continue to change
Well, considering these were predictions, of course they couldn't be proven right or wrong at that time. Pointless observation.
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"The guitar's all right John, but you'll never make a living out of it". - Aunt Mimi to John Lennon
As a side note: we've lost a lot of horsemanship in the US with the loss of cavalry. Fewer people know how to ride over obstacles, handle horses correctly, understand dressage, and relegate horses to the realm of cowboy c**p like barrel racing and reining (a far cry from the work of cavalry horses, which included sliding down embankments, etc. A real shame.
Um, why is this a shame? Horses have been rendered obsolete as means of transportation by superior technology. Why would a modern person need to know how to "ride over obstacles", much less "understand dressage"? Should we moderns also know how to operate a telegraph? A cotton gin?
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My Dad used to run a computer stores with my Mom. And he always said that he never knew computers would become such a big thing. He thought they would remain a hobby thing, like model trains or ham radio. Something where you could run a niche shop and make a good living. He never predicted how far they'd come.
How well did his store do? I'd think pretty well considering the continued rapid rising demand of home pc's.
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"One day you'll have kids and see how real life is. You'll not surf the internet instead of feeding them." My mum.
All I can say is hope Henry Ford's lawyer didn't listen to the banker.
So basically, we can all agree that nothing should be assumed when we try to predict its future/outcome.
Children must always be taught cursive because they won't always have electronic devices with them. (But they will have pen, paper, envelopes, and stamps with them?)
People just won't want to eat synthetic food made directly from carbon, water, and minerals. We will always need farmers.
you know when you go to the cinema and watch the trailers? They should do that at the theater, get the actors to act out scenes from upcoming plays...
Year ???? the world is flat, if it was a sphere we would all fall off!!
Computers shouldnt be in anyone's household to start with, they breed satan in people. dont listen to the fake news media, thry're just trying to bbrainwash the sheeple. WAKE UP!
Perhaps. I thought home pc's would help raise the level of intelligence in mankind, but you're obviously huge proof to the contrary.
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Ken Olson was correct, if he was speaking about the DEC Rainbow (he wasn't). Yet anyone reading this on a Windows device is using an operating system architecture pioneered by a DEC engineer Dave Cutler.
I may be wrong but I thought Bill Gates bought the basic operating system software from a Dentist.....?
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I don't think the guy who admonished rail travel understood the physical properties of air. Like... it doesn't completely avoid or become destroyed by fast-moving things.
Which ones exactly do you think are true in your universe?
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staring at a plywood box with noise and moving pictures is better then staring at a plywood box that only plays noise
#1 - This quote began to show up only as late as earlu 1980's and can't be found in any of Larder's writings. It is possible Larder could have simply made a mistake in calculation or was referring to pneumatic rail concept. The quote itself is, however, a falsificate. #2 - This is more a case of ignorance rather than wrong prediction, as the existence of subterranean oil pockets was known even in ancient times. #3 - Because in 1876 it was utterly impractical, mainly due to its short range and low sound quality, making telegraph much more reliable device. #4 - Edison's lightbulb was just a slight improvement of the device existing for few decades. The assessment is also correct, as carbon-based filament designed by Edison became obsolete over the course of the few years, when the tungsten filaments became the norm. #5 - This quote was related to the present state of technical development. In 1902 there engines were too weak to make a practical aircraft.
#10 - Not true. Harry Warner simply wanted to focus more on background music, while Sam Warner insisted that speech is paramount as it brings movies closer to stage play. Both Harry and Sam were not only strong supporters of talkies, but ultimately produced the first fully-sounded movie. #12 - And he was right. At that stage of development (shortly before the introduction of microcomputers), the computers were basically useless for people at home. #13 - True. Online databases are something different from digital versions of the newspapers. We have 2018 now and people still get their news from newspapers and TV, even though they are digital now.
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"Television won't last because people will soon get tired of staring a plywood box at every night" He forget the fact that TV kill the brain and turn people into zombies.
Who the h*** wants to hear actors talk?-He would be surprised by people today...
These statements are not really predictions of the future, they are statements about the present limitations of the individual technologies. If you preface each of them with "At present," then they all seem perfectly reasonable.
Hmmm...guess I got confused thinking these were predictions due to the fact that they're definitely predictions. Weird.
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Anyone noticed that some of the people quoted here are the once who invested, made mega corps around and or made big money in the same industry they denied. I think they wanted whole pie for themselves by denying technologies in public so other folks stay away while going after it secretly.
Awww, the wonderful times when we were innocent and stoopid. Yes, misspelled and everything.
Most of these people actually knew the benefits of the things they were trying to downplay, but had a vested interest in the alternative. The same thing is happening now. The oil industry is trying to make us believe it's "impossible" to do without gas-powered vehicles on a grand scale.
some of them may still come true, see how we are running away from plastic back to papers and glass bottles, supposing with tech failure we begin to go back to old forms of writing, my people of Igbo nation of Nigeria has this proverb that portrays the uncertainty of the future, it simply states that "Tomorrow is Pregnant and the nobody knows what it will give birth to"
List is incomplete. Needs to include the 30 years of failed global warming predictions, including "The arctic will be ice free by X date" and "Children will not know what snow is." https://www.naturalnews.com/2018-06-26-the-global-warming-hoax-30-years-failed-predictions.html#
I didn't finish reading all of these, but to be honest most are still correct. Who on earth in 20 years will listen to radio broadcasts instead of a customized stream? Who on earth will still use a light or a phone line attached to a wire? At the rate of airplane fare who will pay for this when virtualization of an office or area is just a smart phone tap away? Who would stare at a TV screen when miniature glasses are just around the corner. I believe these folks probably didn't intend to be so far reaching in their site, but these people were unintentionally just looking past the short term. Most of these things spoken of have only been around a hundred years, and will most likely not be around in a hundred years come. At least that is what I predict.
You're saying radio wasn't successful because it will be obsolete in 20 years? Phone or lightbulbs didn't change our lives? It's obvious that a lot of tech will become obsolete in the future, but that doesn't mean it's unsuccessful. So yeah, you can predict for a lot of stuff to not be around in a hundred years, but that's not the point.
Load More Replies... Some people must have/had regrets about not noticing good investments (people have always more regrets about ignoring a way to make money than a good idea)... like publishers refusing J. K. Rowling manuscripts
Me at the start of the BitCoin when 100 BTC were less than 10$....
Load More Replies... They forgot every teacher up until 2000 "You're not going to have a calculator everywhere you go."
Oh wow ... so true. So significant yet looks so insignificant. Never thought I'd have multiple ways of getting math answer on my person when ever I am awake.
Load More Replies... What I have learned here is: Do not predict that something WON'T happen - especially that something won't ever be useful. The lesson from history is that any new technology is very likely to be improved upon until it is practical, even if it didn't start out that way.
Agreed. Also, doesn't Murphy's Law say something like "Whatever can happen, will."?
Load More Replies... It's easy to read these examples and chuckle at them as they are so mainstream these days, we can't imagine life without them. Imagine what it took to make the light bulb practical. Power plants needed to be built, power lines strung all across the landscape, buildings wired for electricity. New technologies needed to be created and businesses built in order for a small glass globe and a piece of filament to be practical. When you think about all that, it's easy to see why some had their doubts. The time, effort and money involved could seem insurmountable. On the other hand, how many inventions had their potential oversold? The Segway was going to change society. We were going to have to redesign cities to accommodate all of them. Google Glass was going to change the way humans interact with technology. You never know what the public is going to embrace or ignore. I bought an eggtastic for a $1 at Dollar Tree and I'm surprised that there isn't one of these in every home.
Interesting points. One overarching take away though is that we shouldn't assume the current paradigms of society are permanent, or that current tech limitations will never be overcome. Cars took over from horses in part b/c their quality on speed, smoothness and reliability improved a ton over their first few decades. If a proposed new technology like reusable rockets or solar shingles can just keep being improved then the claim that it will become significant seems more plausible. On the other hand there are some changes people don't want; when it just felt too weird or dystopian for people to walk around in Google Glasses, no amount of tech improvements to it or marketing could change that.
Load More Replies... Also, the then Director of the US Patent office, some time in the 1890s said (at one of the world's fairs I think): 'There will be no more significant inventions.' At the same event the US Postmaster General, when asked if mail carriers would ever get cars, said: 'Your mail will always be delivered by a horse and buggy.' And in 1995 some guy wrote a long article for Wired explaining how 'the internet probably wouldn't grow much more in popularity.'
If history tells you one thing, than it is that technological progress cannot be stopped, and neglecting it is folly. But then, if the next newspaper mentioned billions spent on space flights, people lurk out from everywhere asking "Where will this help me now?". Well, folly.
I shall now be inserting "folly" into my daily language.
Load More Replies... for their time they were not wrong.But science is advancing with great steps.Εven today some issues which we consider to be certain continue to change
Well, considering these were predictions, of course they couldn't be proven right or wrong at that time. Pointless observation.
Load More Replies... "The guitar's all right John, but you'll never make a living out of it". - Aunt Mimi to John Lennon
As a side note: we've lost a lot of horsemanship in the US with the loss of cavalry. Fewer people know how to ride over obstacles, handle horses correctly, understand dressage, and relegate horses to the realm of cowboy c**p like barrel racing and reining (a far cry from the work of cavalry horses, which included sliding down embankments, etc. A real shame.
Um, why is this a shame? Horses have been rendered obsolete as means of transportation by superior technology. Why would a modern person need to know how to "ride over obstacles", much less "understand dressage"? Should we moderns also know how to operate a telegraph? A cotton gin?
Load More Replies... My Dad used to run a computer stores with my Mom. And he always said that he never knew computers would become such a big thing. He thought they would remain a hobby thing, like model trains or ham radio. Something where you could run a niche shop and make a good living. He never predicted how far they'd come.
How well did his store do? I'd think pretty well considering the continued rapid rising demand of home pc's.
Load More Replies... "One day you'll have kids and see how real life is. You'll not surf the internet instead of feeding them." My mum.
All I can say is hope Henry Ford's lawyer didn't listen to the banker.
So basically, we can all agree that nothing should be assumed when we try to predict its future/outcome.
Children must always be taught cursive because they won't always have electronic devices with them. (But they will have pen, paper, envelopes, and stamps with them?)
People just won't want to eat synthetic food made directly from carbon, water, and minerals. We will always need farmers.
you know when you go to the cinema and watch the trailers? They should do that at the theater, get the actors to act out scenes from upcoming plays...
Year ???? the world is flat, if it was a sphere we would all fall off!!
Computers shouldnt be in anyone's household to start with, they breed satan in people. dont listen to the fake news media, thry're just trying to bbrainwash the sheeple. WAKE UP!
Perhaps. I thought home pc's would help raise the level of intelligence in mankind, but you're obviously huge proof to the contrary.
Load More Replies... Ken Olson was correct, if he was speaking about the DEC Rainbow (he wasn't). Yet anyone reading this on a Windows device is using an operating system architecture pioneered by a DEC engineer Dave Cutler.
I may be wrong but I thought Bill Gates bought the basic operating system software from a Dentist.....?
Load More Replies... I don't think the guy who admonished rail travel understood the physical properties of air. Like... it doesn't completely avoid or become destroyed by fast-moving things.
Which ones exactly do you think are true in your universe?
Load More Replies... staring at a plywood box with noise and moving pictures is better then staring at a plywood box that only plays noise
#1 - This quote began to show up only as late as earlu 1980's and can't be found in any of Larder's writings. It is possible Larder could have simply made a mistake in calculation or was referring to pneumatic rail concept. The quote itself is, however, a falsificate. #2 - This is more a case of ignorance rather than wrong prediction, as the existence of subterranean oil pockets was known even in ancient times. #3 - Because in 1876 it was utterly impractical, mainly due to its short range and low sound quality, making telegraph much more reliable device. #4 - Edison's lightbulb was just a slight improvement of the device existing for few decades. The assessment is also correct, as carbon-based filament designed by Edison became obsolete over the course of the few years, when the tungsten filaments became the norm. #5 - This quote was related to the present state of technical development. In 1902 there engines were too weak to make a practical aircraft.
#10 - Not true. Harry Warner simply wanted to focus more on background music, while Sam Warner insisted that speech is paramount as it brings movies closer to stage play. Both Harry and Sam were not only strong supporters of talkies, but ultimately produced the first fully-sounded movie. #12 - And he was right. At that stage of development (shortly before the introduction of microcomputers), the computers were basically useless for people at home. #13 - True. Online databases are something different from digital versions of the newspapers. We have 2018 now and people still get their news from newspapers and TV, even though they are digital now.
Load More Replies... "Television won't last because people will soon get tired of staring a plywood box at every night" He forget the fact that TV kill the brain and turn people into zombies.
Who the h*** wants to hear actors talk?-He would be surprised by people today...
These statements are not really predictions of the future, they are statements about the present limitations of the individual technologies. If you preface each of them with "At present," then they all seem perfectly reasonable.
Hmmm...guess I got confused thinking these were predictions due to the fact that they're definitely predictions. Weird.
Load More Replies... Anyone noticed that some of the people quoted here are the once who invested, made mega corps around and or made big money in the same industry they denied. I think they wanted whole pie for themselves by denying technologies in public so other folks stay away while going after it secretly.
Awww, the wonderful times when we were innocent and stoopid. Yes, misspelled and everything.
Most of these people actually knew the benefits of the things they were trying to downplay, but had a vested interest in the alternative. The same thing is happening now. The oil industry is trying to make us believe it's "impossible" to do without gas-powered vehicles on a grand scale.
some of them may still come true, see how we are running away from plastic back to papers and glass bottles, supposing with tech failure we begin to go back to old forms of writing, my people of Igbo nation of Nigeria has this proverb that portrays the uncertainty of the future, it simply states that "Tomorrow is Pregnant and the nobody knows what it will give birth to"
List is incomplete. Needs to include the 30 years of failed global warming predictions, including "The arctic will be ice free by X date" and "Children will not know what snow is." https://www.naturalnews.com/2018-06-26-the-global-warming-hoax-30-years-failed-predictions.html#
I didn't finish reading all of these, but to be honest most are still correct. Who on earth in 20 years will listen to radio broadcasts instead of a customized stream? Who on earth will still use a light or a phone line attached to a wire? At the rate of airplane fare who will pay for this when virtualization of an office or area is just a smart phone tap away? Who would stare at a TV screen when miniature glasses are just around the corner. I believe these folks probably didn't intend to be so far reaching in their site, but these people were unintentionally just looking past the short term. Most of these things spoken of have only been around a hundred years, and will most likely not be around in a hundred years come. At least that is what I predict.
You're saying radio wasn't successful because it will be obsolete in 20 years? Phone or lightbulbs didn't change our lives? It's obvious that a lot of tech will become obsolete in the future, but that doesn't mean it's unsuccessful. So yeah, you can predict for a lot of stuff to not be around in a hundred years, but that's not the point.
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