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While it’s fun to guess and debate what the next big thing will be, regardless of whether it’s technology, political or social situations, or any other aspect, it’s much more fun to take a look at the things people said would be the next big thing that never did.

Reddit has recently been discussing just that—all of the things that people thought would be huge, but that most of us have now forgotten (or didn’t even know) about.

The online community’s user u/LineOfDeath (very appropriate given the question) asked people “What was supposed to be ‘The Next Big Thing’, but totally flopped?” and over 50,000 comments later, the AskReddit post blew up with over 76,000 upvotes in under a day.

Bored Panda invites you to take a look at the things people answered in the list below. And while you’re there, vote and comment on the best ones. Well, OK, not the best ones, but you get what I mean.

More Info: Reddit

#1

Here Are 30 Things That Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing, But Ended Up Forgotten, As Shared By People Online Not entirely relevant, but I liked the trend where everybody wanted the smallest cell phone possible. For 20 years cell phones got smaller and smaller. Often being the main selling point of the phone.

Then all of sudden you could watch videos on your phone, and almost overnight the trend reversed to “larger is better”

Buttsquish , Unknown Report

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Andrew Gibb
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I like the reversion to Nokia burner phones- not being pestered by the internet. Snake in colour

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#4

Here Are 30 Things That Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing, But Ended Up Forgotten, As Shared By People Online The Segway. It was supposed to change the way everyone lived. The invention of the century or something like that. A really big deal.

xxzzxxvv , David McKelvey Report

#5

Here Are 30 Things That Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing, But Ended Up Forgotten, As Shared By People Online Airship travel. These were the next, awesome way to travel long distances; in fact the spire on top of the Empire State Building was meant as an anchoring point for airships.

The Hindenburg kind of put a damper on it, though

Creative_Waltz_9462 , Unknown Report

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#7

Here Are 30 Things That Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing, But Ended Up Forgotten, As Shared By People Online 3D TV

colin_staples , Wikimedia Commons Report

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Aurelia!
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

why would you want to feel like YOU are getting attacked by zombies every time you watch the walking dead? The point is to enjoy OTHER PEOPLE getting attacked by zombies.

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#9

Here Are 30 Things That Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing, But Ended Up Forgotten, As Shared By People Online Hoverboards? I remember in a span of 3 months everyone had them and showed them off and then they just disappeared.

tashasei , JrTech Report

#11

Here Are 30 Things That Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing, But Ended Up Forgotten, As Shared By People Online The area 51 raid.

NuclearBreadLauncher , Wikimedia Commons Report

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Chillace
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

ah i remember me and my friends were joking about going there even though we were like 1000 miles away

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#13

Here Are 30 Things That Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing, But Ended Up Forgotten, As Shared By People Online This one might be a bit obscure just because I've only ever met one other person familiar with it, but Google's Project Ara modular smartphone was looking like it could've been the end all be all of smartphones.

Based off the Phonebloks idea of having a Lego-like hot-swappable module phone, the idea was that you could switch out any components of the phone on the fly. Camera, fingerprint scanner, even different quality screens. Conceptually, it really looked like it could take over the phone market, as it would lead to people not having to buy whole new phones anymore, but rather replacement or upgraded parts to a phone they already liked, thereby reducing costs and increasing utility.

You don't want a phone with 5 cameras that inflate the cost unnecessarily? Just buy a one camera module. You want a 1440P Super Amoled screen to replace your 720P regular screen? Buy one and swap it in.

However, like many Google projects, it died off for myriad reasons and the longstanding era of $1000 dollar smartphone slabs lived on.

ShartinMyKrelis , Maurizio Pesce Report

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JLH
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As a PC guy, this was the holy grail, but noooooo, we can't have nice things.

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#15

Here Are 30 Things That Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing, But Ended Up Forgotten, As Shared By People Online What ever happened to those curved televisions? I remember seeing one on an advert a few years back bit havent seen or heard about them since.

having_a_nosey , Wikimedia Commons Report

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tomruns12
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They are still out there and someone what popular with videophiles but IMO its just a gimmick to make TV's more expensive.

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#16

Here Are 30 Things That Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing, But Ended Up Forgotten, As Shared By People Online The "Dark Universe" cinematic universe, starting with 2017's THE MUMMY.

JSanzi , imax Report

#17

Here Are 30 Things That Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing, But Ended Up Forgotten, As Shared By People Online Asbestos

Technically it was a hit! Right until it flopped when people figured out the whole 'inhaling rockfibers is not healthy' thing...

Th3Cooperative , Wikimedia Commons Report

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GirlFriday
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is still one of the most effective insulations and flame retardants of all time. It is just that whole "poking holes in your lungs" thing that killed it.

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#18

Here Are 30 Things That Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing, But Ended Up Forgotten, As Shared By People Online Dip N Dots...



Been the "Ice Cream Of The Future" for 40 years now it seems.

T-Rex3131 , newwavegurly Report

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Mifa
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To be fair Dip N Dots were luxury items in elementary school. I remember begging my friends for money on field trips so I could get one.

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#20

Here Are 30 Things That Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing, But Ended Up Forgotten, As Shared By People Online Xbox Kinect

mr_bigbadjas , Jung-nam Nam Report

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Chillace
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

aaah memories. i remember they were trtying to be lik the wii

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#21

Lazer discs the size of records.

RootbeerEyedDog Report

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Tim Haight
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember those. Few places sold them. Everyoine sold and rented VHS tapes. And people could program their VCR to tape their favorite show.

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#22

QR Codes.

After so many years, they're finally getting some traction during Covid. I wonder if it will last.

Quesabirria Report

#23

Here Are 30 Things That Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing, But Ended Up Forgotten, As Shared By People Online HD DVD

Still remember half the movies being blue and the others red.

BigMilk0 , Wikimedia Commons Report

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Matt Du
Community Member
2 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

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#24

Amazon’s shopping buttons. They pushed really hard for those and I never saw the point.

GarrettSLB Report

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ƒιѕн
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Buttons you could place around your house. Put one by the clothes washer, out of laundry detergent, press the button and it automatically buys more.

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Enna S
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My friend moved into a new house and the previous owners had these buttons EVERYWHERE. Diapers, laundry detergent, Diet Coke, etc. They must've been the only family to adopt this technology because it's the only time I've seen them in real life.

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the annoying theatre kid
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

alexa kind of pushed it down because now you can just ask alexa to order you stuff

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Paul Davis
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It was one of those "What could possibly go wrong" technologies...well what about when the cat sits on it or your toddler plays with it? Just an incredibly stupid, poorly thought through product.

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Max L.
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not a bad idea but they found a loophole in the fact nobody orders on amazon items you usually buy other places. Detergents, nice idea for the buttons, but not the use. Pasta, who orders pasta on amazon ?

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Manuel Baca
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So you mean the buy now button? It was designed for when people didn’t have to do all their shopping online. So you you could buy one item and be done.

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Tracey Hirt
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Amazon Dash was a set of physical buttons with a brand names you place near frequently-ordered items. Low on toilet paper? Press the "Cottonelle" button on the wall next to the toilet, and a package of your pre-approved amount would be on its way. Not soon enough for that particular visit, but it was supposed to save people the hassle of actually having to remember to order the items later.

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scrappyrat
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think they might have taken off if Amazon hadn't made you pay for them. If they'd given them away (or charged some tiny fee at most), I think they would have had more success.

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Erik Lawrence
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

cool-ish idea... last roll of TP? stick a button next to the holder, push it and in 2 days you have more...same with all staples... did well at first, then nobody used them.... i heard makers were trying to scrounge them up as best they could for other uses, good tech inside.

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Nic Dudley
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We had a couple but then they stopped working after a while.

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Sasy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They made them illegal in some countries because of their being linked up to peoples accounts and so easily accessible I think European countries made them a big no.

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Gina
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There was a pen too, for scanning barcodes to reorder. My cousin has it, I've never seen it anywhere else besides his house.

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Damon Tripodi
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They were for things that just weren't purchased that frequently, now if there was a button to summon soda...

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Mary Peace
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just read the title again. Amazon 'pushed really hard' Were they trying to order more of themselves?

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Mary Peace
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had to read the comments to find out what these were. Suppose your 4yo goes round the house pushing all the buttons? 2 days later you would have an avalanche of stuff delivered, and wonder why your bank account was empty.

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Eva Sawyer
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They were fine if you only wanted them for one or two things - any more then 5 and it was worthless

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Leslie Burleson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I didn't get it either .... but one of my buttons was a Candy , and it was pretty magical to go online and hit the magical candy button that sent candy to my home.

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#25

The 2010 live action avatar: the last air bender movie

agentjakethedog Report

#26

Here Are 30 Things That Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing, But Ended Up Forgotten, As Shared By People Online At the time video calling with your phone completely flopped because 3G couldn't support it. There was so much advertising about this thing that was meant to be huge but the tech really didn't work yet. But it did blow up later on with 4G, better phones, wifi in more public spaces.

clockworkapple14 , Karl Baron Report

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Andrew Gibb
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

video calling is doomed to fail. I have to admit that zoom and skype are tedious.People like to do other things while speaking to others, which is why people still phone each other.

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#27

Hydrogen cars were a promising new form of motorized vehicle. They were supposed to be incredibly good for the environment, emitting only water as the exhaust. They exist, but not like how some people imagined. I was a pretty big hydrogen car believer at the time. There are some hydrogen stations, but mostly centered around California. Thing is that the hydrogen is quite expensive and not very efficient compared to smaller engines, hybrids, and EV’s. The hydrogen is also somewhat inefficient to produce, store, and distribute as well.

You can actually get a hydrogen car though, they’re out there. The Toyota Mirai is a really good example. Out of all hydrogen cars, that one is definitely most popular. In fact, Toyota pays for $15,000 worth of hydrogen in your first few years of ownership since it’s so expensive. This means that for your first 3-ish years of owning one, you might not have to pay a penny in fuel. As you can see I’m still a hydrogen advocate. Don’t expect to be able to take it very far from your nearest hydrogen station though.

Yung_Onions Report

#28

Here Are 30 Things That Were Supposed To Be The Next Big Thing, But Ended Up Forgotten, As Shared By People Online Elizabeth Holmes.

DudeFromSaudi , Wikimedia Commons Report

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Easily Excitable Panda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Read "Bad Blood." She not only conned hundreds of people, she single-handedly set back the credibility of women in the tech industry.

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#29

The Wii U

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Romery Wells
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

YES. i still have my Wii U pad and all the acceseries to this day. and they work perfect

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#30

hat streaming service that lasted like two months. ‘Qubi’ or ‘Qupi’ I think?

Even bad timing aside (a mobile based streaming service at a time when no one could really leave their house) the marketing was just horrible. I saw ads for it for nearly a week before I realized it was a new video streaming service, and by that point was so annoyed by the ads untrusting everything I didn’t care at all, just out of spite. Also I mean it was just YouTube you have to pay for and got worse content.

EDIT: it was Quibi. It made so little impact I couldn’t recall at first.

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Note: this post originally had 44 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.