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It’s crazy to think both how short and infinitely long a century is. You see, Motorola’s DynaTAC, the first cell phone, was launched in 1984 for a price of $3,995. And today, nobody can imagine their life without touch-screen mobiles with integrated Leica cameras and AI face recognition systems that come at much less than Motorola’s initial price.

So imagine how differently people back then perceived the advancements in technology that looked both incredible and life-changing. And they were. But technology, and the world we live in, escalates so quickly that it surpasses our best forecasts for what the future holds.

And this time, we are talking a look at retro-futuristic examples created in the previous century that give us a glimpse into weird and wonderful dreams of the human mind.

#2

A Fifties Navigation System. Don't Know Who Imagined This But I Love It!

A Fifties Navigation System. Don't Know Who Imagined This But I Love It!

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Eduard Korhonen
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually, it's a ln image someone created in 2013 https://www.designcrowd.com/design/8798738

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To find out more about the weird and wonderful retrofuturism movement, Bored Panda reached out to Lisa Yaszek, a Regents Professor of Science Fiction Studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Lisa explained that when we talk about retrofuturist objects and images, we usually refer to images of the past from the late 1800s through the space race, like many of the images collected here. “And when we look at these images, it becomes clear that people from the past actually had expectations of the future that were often quite like our own!”

#3

1940s Vision Of Food Delivery Future

1940s Vision Of Food Delivery Future

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Sum Guy
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is actually cool. when you order something, as the truck moves to your house, they are also preparing the food. It gets to you as soon as it's plated. AMAZING

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According to Lisa, “they seem to have been particularly good at extrapolating from all the exciting new communications technologies of the time—telephones, radios, film, and TV—to imagine a range of new communications technologies much like we have now that allow us to talk to anyone from anywhere (#1 and 11), navigate our cars with ease (#2), get breaking news on our screens (#5), and even shop from home (#18 is shockingly on the mark).”

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#5

Television Newspaper - Some Day You May Be Able To Receive The Front Page Of Your Morning Newspaper This Way

Television Newspaper - Some Day You May Be Able To Receive The Front Page Of Your Morning Newspaper This Way

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Bender Bending Rodríguez
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Twenty dead and fifteen missing" ... not much has changed for front page news. Same doom and gloom on front page.

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#6

Self Driving Cars Of The Future, Circa 1960

Self Driving Cars Of The Future, Circa 1960

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Norma
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even if this were 100% proven safe, it scares the crap out of me!!

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Moreover, “People of the past were also quite good at anticipating how our clothing and personal presentation might change! Image #1 presents us with the kind of brightly colored, streamlined, unisex uniform first imagined by avant-garde artists and then made popular by science fiction filmmakers in the opening decades of the twentieth century and that are still very much with us today.”

As for image #16, Lisa sees it as an exciting representation of future fashion. “The two models here appear to be wearing then-contemporary undergarments, but other aspects of their styles are very modern! The artist certainly guessed correctly that in the future, we would wear less clothing in public, indulge in more body ornamentation (the man’s tattoos look a lot like the tribal body art that became popular with the Modern Primitive movement in the 1990s), and that gender roles might be less clearly defined.”

#7

2022

2022

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qahtanrama avatar
River Webb
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

well with covid we are well on our way to doing just that

dontlook avatar
Don't Look
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think it’s more smart car based. I’m referring specifically to the brand (considering the name has nothing to do with the car being intelligent or anyone owning one being more intelligent for that).

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Ozacoter
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Damn it I knew that we wouldnt get rid of it this year

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

Yeah, i know. I'm still going to be wearing a mask indoors and around crowds for a while.

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Brandi VanSteenwyk
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wonder if the artist was thinking electric or petrol vehicles. What about families? And why is the one gentleman tipping his hat to Jason?

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Biljana Malesevic
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Social distance on streets. But doesn't look safe enough for possible collisions.

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Znaya
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every one is isolated in a self contained unit, they knew 😀

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Daniel (ShadowDrakken)
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We're almost there. If people don't start wearing their damn masks or taking their vaccinations, this may be the next step

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Persp Gold
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

you can buy these, just no one does. search "enclosed mobility scooter" theres some great designs

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Hilary Mol
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So the Italians thought of the Popemobile before it was constructed, and then predicted everybody would have their own personal Popemobile decades in the future. This certainly would make finding a parking spot so much easier.

ikbenik avatar
Fieke Engelen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No! They would be individual. So it would take 4 to fill one car space, and all the people using public transport now, would be using them. Well I would

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Billy The Kid
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well we have the electric scooters. Just need to put a casing on it

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Axel Baer
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Can you imagine the Road Rage if that was the main mode of transport used today? What with so many volatile & easily triggered road users in today's society, the streets would be even madder with irate drivers...Many years ago my wife & I once watched two senior grumpy mobility scooter 👨‍🦼 users in Chester City centre going at it on a narrow sidewalk fighting for the right of way. It was so funny, and I know we shouldn't have laughed so loud and hard but it was like some sort of bizarre modern-day jousting tournament! 😄😅😂🤣

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mcborge1
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It looks like the P45 Jeremy Clarkson built (and nearly died in) on Top Gear.

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Kelz
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Those things look like they could tip really easy!!!

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

And naturally nowhere in the opera it’s stated as 2022

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Nami Tantrum
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

that is no the titel of that picture, and not what it is about

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Tame panda
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thanks God it is not truth because the vehicle can lose balance easily by speed breakers and it doesn't have a seat and don't have space for a family.

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jdtubeyou
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And this is basically how everyone looks in modern cars. Next time you're at a traffic light look around and notice it's a combination of this picture and the picture up top of the video chat

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jdtubeyou
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The guy on the far left of the picture is the most accurate

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jdtubeyou
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The modern looking guy on the left side is the most accurate

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Lieutenant BaconWaffles
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A combo of a scooter & a mini electric car, but they're too claustrophobic & have no protection from impact. Looks like they'd tip over easily in strong wind.

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

Cool illustration. Look in the top left corner! There's a sign for "Ripley's Museum ". Believe It Or Not. Ha.

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Kim St
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

oh no, i hope this does not come true. but looking like it might.

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Ian Collins
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

only difference is we won't look nearly as sophisticated... t-shirts and sweat pants

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Carlos Quintino
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

FAKE https://www.archyde.com/no-this-walter-molino-illustration-did-not-predict-life-in-2022/

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Tracy Baparam
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well we still have 9 months left in 2021, somebody please invent this.

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El Dee
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Spot on! We're almost there with the masks and those things look like those two-wheeled balancy things I can't remember the name of lol!

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Mary Peace
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3 years ago

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Bettye McKee
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The length of your trip might depend on how long you could stand upright.

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Jean Thompson
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Gentlemen raising their hats to ladies - in 2022?? Men wearing hats?? Meanwhile, I would love one of these little movers, but perhaps with a seat!!

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Angela
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So this is coming next year eh? All electric. Looks like a covered Segway.

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Ryan Mayer
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Explanation: The picture is misleading, as Misbar investigated it and found that it was actually by the Italian artist Walter Molino and was published in the Italian newspaper La Domenica del Corriere in 1962. However, it talks about the problems related to traffic in cities and the mechanisms suggested by the artist in the painting to reduce the congestion crisis, and it has nothing to do with epidemics and viruses whatsoever.

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Linda Robinett
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I cannot see the use for this unless the atmosphere is unbreathable

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Steve Haigh
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

the painting and artist did not envision 2022 at all regarding this. That's just been tagged on by people claiming it predicted COVID. https://factcheck.afp.com/image-shows-italian-artists-illustration-futuristic-vehicle-not-prediction-what-2022-would-look

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The_tattered_hippie
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Odd that this was done well after the invention of the car and the painter thought we’d go backwards to using scooter like vehicles 🤔

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Dahungryfella
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This post came from Belgium. Not relevant, just noticed the hashtags.

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Lorelei
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If only this was true...we wouldn’t hafta social distance!

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Sac Shim
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is quite nice, although we’ve got it a lot earlier.

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I’m A Black Cat
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why don't we just walk?! In the 1960s and 1970s everything was car-based. In European towns whole buildings were torn down (yes, really old and pretty ones too) to make room for roads and parking space. This picture is obviously driven (haha pun not intended) by the same ideals. I actually hope that the trend continues towards car-free movement and transportation

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I'm lay sheep in China
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As per Pandemic conditions right now, this would be better as self isolated car

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BabaBizzle
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is eerily spot on about where we are in life with Covid-19

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zims
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Still got another year, could make it happen. Segways, hoverboards, those mini cars kids drive, just needs a little more enclosure.

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Jenifer Riggs
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Doesn't look very comfortable...also what if you are claustrophobic?

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Crazy Meerkat Lady
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well.... maybe next year, if mask wearing and sanitizing isn't enough

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King Joffrey
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This could easily be a thing if these electric scooters were allowed on the roads.

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River Webb
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3 years ago

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#9

The Future Of Phones, 1956

The Future Of Phones, 1956

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Linus Nilsson
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not even in the imagined picture is it possible to hold the phone comfortably.

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Having said that, the people of the past were not always very accurate with their predictions about the use of big science and big engineering, said Lisa. “Images #15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, and 30 are particularly good examples of the utopian dream that someone—possibly the state, possibly a benevolent corporation—will engage in big, public engineering projects that will allow us to live well in the potentially hostile environments we might encounter in the future.”

#10

James Bond Receives A "Text" Via His Smartwatch In The Spy Who Loved Me

James Bond Receives A "Text" Via His Smartwatch In The Spy Who Loved Me

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Kathryn Baylis
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But where would he keep the roll of tape the message is stamped onto?

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#11

1970s Futuristic Concept For Jetliner Air Travel

1970s Futuristic Concept For Jetliner Air Travel

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#12

1969 Japanese Vision Of The Future Classroom, The Odd Part Is That Included Small Robots To Rap Students On The Head When Misbehaving

1969 Japanese Vision Of The Future Classroom, The Odd Part Is That Included Small Robots To Rap Students On The Head When Misbehaving

abt137 Report

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Farid Red
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Its not for misbehaving, its for punishment for getting wrong answer. Compare each student screen. Cruel.

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According to the professor, people also had surprisingly different ideas about transportation than we do now. “I get the sense that the women in image #1 have flown their personal airplanes to the restaurant for a quick drink, and I love the idea that we might create maglevs for mass transit and then use balloons and mechanized glass domes for personal travel (#4, 7). People were right to guess that we’d have automated cars (#6, 17), but they clearly didn’t anticipate that such cars would be used mostly for corporate purposes.”

“Finally, as a university professor, I am desperately sad that we have not developed robots to rap students on the head when they are misbehaving as in image #10. Someone needs to start working on that immediately,” the professor commented.

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#13

VR In 1989

VR In 1989

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Sum Guy
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Someone keeps saying jesus is lord... I grew up in a christian household but we never forced it down other people's throats. It is annoying

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#15

How Nasa Imagined Life In Space

How Nasa Imagined Life In Space

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The professor of science fiction studies also noted that it’s important to remember that these futures were not retro to the people who imagined them. “They were modern imaginings of the future, inspired by the cutting-edge sciences and avant-garde arts of the time.”

From the retrofuturist images that were generated between the 1880s and 1960s, “we get a great sense of the sciences and technologies that were most important to people of the past, including new modes of mass and personal transportation, new communication technologies, and new habitats for new forms of living (garden mega-cities and artificial ringworlds),” Lisa explained.

#16

Fashions Of 1950, As Predicted On The Cover Of Life Magazine In 1914

Fashions Of 1950, As Predicted On The Cover Of Life Magazine In 1914

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#17

1981 Vision Of Suburbia After There's No More Room Left For Suburbs

1981 Vision Of Suburbia After There's No More Room Left For Suburbs

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Elaine Verhagen
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love the fact that everyone still has a garden and freestanding house instead of a balcony with no space.

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#18

Home Shopping In The 1940s

Home Shopping In The 1940s

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Lisa added that “people were inspired by the rise of modern cities and modern factories to imagine that we would enjoy many large, state- or corporate-sponsored public works projects—and that those projects would combine the best of the natural and technological worlds,” and added: “They are wholeheartedly utopian!”

#19

Futuristic Road Trip With The Family (Bruce Mccall)

Futuristic Road Trip With The Family (Bruce Mccall)

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#20

City Of The Future As Imagined In 1908

City Of The Future As Imagined In 1908

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Meanwhile, Lina Survila, a global tech PR and chief editor at Abstract Stylist, also told Bored Panda that “artists had the perfect vision, and it seems they were very close to the ideas we see today.”

Moreover, “Retro futurist aesthetics have touched every possible art form there is. Fashion is no exception. When we think of futurism in fashion and a bright vision of what the future might be, we think of Paco Rabanne. The Spanish fashion designer was active in the '60s and totally disrupted the fashion scene with retrofuturistic designs and his ideas of how people would dress in the future (most likely, that future is now).”

#22

Soviet Vision Of The Future In The 1930s

Soviet Vision Of The Future In The 1930s

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Retro ideas of how the future would look inspired many creators, artists, and thinkers, “from architect and designer Matti Suuronen (Futuro house created in the 1970s) to writer Isaac Asimov's book The Naked Sun.” Lina added that The Jetsons with their retrofuturistic flying cars also deserve a big shout-out in popularizing the movement’s aesthetics in popular culture.

#26

Monsanto House Of The Future 1957

Monsanto House Of The Future 1957

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N G
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Now I know where some of the Grand Designs lot got their inspiration. Anyone else looking for Kevin McCloud in this pic?

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#27

Worst Space Suit Design Ever?

Worst Space Suit Design Ever?

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Annamagelic
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One thing I appreciate about this is both individuals are equally underdressed. Too often female characters get a bikini while male characters get practical coverage. But this guy forgot his pants too.

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#28

This Was An Actual Space Suit Grumman Aircraft Corp Tried To Sell Nasa In 1962

This Was An Actual Space Suit Grumman Aircraft Corp Tried To Sell Nasa In 1962

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#29

Teen-Agers Of The 21st Century

Teen-Agers Of The 21st Century

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N G
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ah, teen-speak. Incomprehensible to the over 40s in the past, present and future!

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#30

Nuke-Proof Underground City Below Manhattan, 1969 (Oscar Newman)

Nuke-Proof Underground City Below Manhattan, 1969 (Oscar Newman)

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Note: this post originally had 49 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.