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How People in the Past Saw the Future

It’s always fun to dig up pictures from the past, be it early photos, the 1st versions of popular tech devices, or historical milestones captured on film. After all, vintage photos can reveal the most incredible details about the world of the distant past. In this article, we’d like to take a deep dive into one specific subject - futuristic inventions. Let’s see how the people of the past imagined the life of future generations and find out whether some of their imaginative predictions actually came true with these 25 vintage pictures.

1. A helicopter cab, something we really need in big cities these days with all that traffic

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past helicopter cab

2. This is how people imagined the fashion of 1950 in 1914, the cover of Life Magazine

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past the fashion of 1950 in 1914, the cover of Life Magazine

3. An illustration from the 1940s depicting home shopping

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past  illustration from the 1940's depicting home shopping

4. Glasses with a built-in radio, a 1972 illustration from a Soviet magazine

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past Glasses with a built in radio, an 1972 illustration a Soviet magazine

5. A version of a 1930 StreamLine KJ Henderson motorcycle

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past 1930 Stream Line KJ Henderson motorcycle

6. An unfinished prototype of the Nazi all-wing jet aircraft called the Horten Ho 229 V3

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past unfinished prototype of the Nazi all-wing jet aircraft called the Horten Ho 229 V3

7. A 1934 illustration of the mobile home of tomorrow, a truly catastrophic idea

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past 1934 illustration of the mobile home of tomorrow

8. A Space Age desk design by Jean Leleu, 1969

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past Space Age desk design by Jean Leleu, 1969

9. A railplane system designed in 1930 by George Bennie

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past railplane system designed in 1930 by George Bennie

10. Well-rounded living it is! Another mobile home design featured on the 'Science and Mechanics' magazine cover, 1961

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past mobile home designed featured on the 'Science and Mechanics' magazine cover, 1961

11. A flying bus concept from 1946

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past flying bus concept from 1946

12. A 1949 photo of the Tomorrow-Cycle, the supposed bicycle of the future

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past 1949 photo of the Tomorrow-Cycle

13. An illustration of a radio-controlled police robot (1924)

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past radio-controlled police robot (1924)

14. A Morse code signaling set called the ‘Space Station’ from the 1950s 

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past Morse code signaling set called the ‘Space Station’ from the 1950's 

15. 1942 concept design of a mobile phone on planes by General Electric

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past 1942 concept design of a mobile phone on planes by General Electric

16. A luxury air-conditioned lawn mower prototype from the 1950s

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past luxury air conditioned lawn mower prototype from the 1950's

17. Propeller powered troops on skis from the November 1939 cover of 'Popular Science Magazine'

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past Propeller powered troops on skis from the November, 1939 cover of 'Popular Science Magazine'

18. A proposed design of an American Airlines coach lounge from the 1970s, something we're still waiting for

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past American Airlines coach lounge from the 1970's

19. The design of an atomic coffee machine, an item that wouldn't exactly fly off the shelves these days...

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past atomic coffee machine

20. A 1967 idea of future fashion, Space Man and Space Girl from 'Tomorrowland' (1967)

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past 1967 idea of future fashion, Space Man and Space Girl from 'Tomorrowland' (1967)

21. A typewriter-desk-chair design at the Business Efficiency Exhibition, 1971

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past typewriter-desk-chair design at the Business Efficiency Exhibition, 1971

22. A concept model of the 1951 Studebaker Manta-Ray vehicle

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past concept model of the 1951 Studebaker Manta Ray vehicle

23. So-called bird scooters, an illustration from 1960

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past bird scooters, an illustration from 1960

24. A 1925 illustration of how medical diagnosis by radio would work, note the robot hands

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past 1925 illustration of how medical diagnosis by radio

25. At least we can proudly say that this futuristic idea became reality. A 1946 illustration of a flat-screen TV from Seagram’s 'Beyond Tomorrow' ad series

25 Silly and Fun Futuristic Inventions of the Past 946 illustration of a flat screen TV from Seagram’s 'Beyond Tomorrow' ad series
Images Source: acidcow.com
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