Monday 24 June 2019

1888 to 1988

In 1888, Victorian readers of Answer Magazine were asked what they thought England would be like in 1988 but although bizarrely none of them predicted Rick Astley or Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, they were not that far away.
There were predictions of no gas, vehicles and homes made of indestructible paper, magneto-petrolo (whatever that is) fires and inflatable clothes that allow a person to walk on water.
Other fanciful suggestions were and end to river pollution, heat taken from clouds and clothes made from vegetable fibres and a smaller population 'of about 6 million'.
The things which were correct were peoples jobs being taken by robots, more richer people, faster trains and military battles involving air traveling machines which could also be used to take people on holidays.
They expected us to have visited the moon by 1988 and to build a tunnel or bridge between England and continental Europe while there will be a female majority in parliament, the House of Lords will be abolished and electric trains will travel underground in tubes.
Every street will have electric lights and houses will all contain telephones so in all they were pretty much spot on, apart from the paper houses and not foreseeing Phil Collins but otherwise a good attempt. 

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