'Kidney cosies', telepathic embryos, and more: Hit and miss predictions of life in 2023 from a century ago
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It's fascinating to consider how far we've come with technology, medicine and infrastructure in the last 100 years.
But even more amazing is being able to read what people back then thought life would be like in 2023.
Through scouring historical newspapers, a University of Calgary researcher and historical newspaper specialist, Paul Fairie, recently discovered some spot-on and downright wacky predictions from the 1900s.
From a four-hour work day to technological leaps, there was certainly a lot of speculation around what life would look like by now.
Let's take a look at what was speculated, what came true, and the points that were wildly off the mark!
A half day’s worth of work is the norm
Our first prediction as found by Fairie comes from Dr Charles Proteus Steinmetz, who was once an ‘eminent electrical engineer’ of the General Electric Company and ‘successor-elect of Thomas Edison’.
A newspaper clipping with the title ‘No More Hard Work by 2023!’ attributes the following to Dr Steinmetz: ‘the time is coming when there will be no long drudgery and that people will toil not more than four hours a day, owing to the work of electricity’.
This prediction has hits and misses in itself, considering that modern society does run on many things which include electricity.
Recent technological advances such as automation of repetitive tasks and the rise of electric-powered machines taking over what once were manual jobs (ahem, self-checkouts) give Dr Steinmetz’s vision grains of truth.
For the most part, though, four-hour work days as the norm remains a long way off as eight hours is still considered the standard shift length.
One can’t help but hope though…
Radio-powered machines
Glenn Curtiss, recognised as one of the pillars of US aviation history, put forth a rather puzzling prediction.
A newspaper clipping attributed to him says by 2023, petrol would have been phased out in favour of radio as an energy source.
This isn’t exactly far-fetched as it has long been theorised that it is possible for radio waves — also known as electromagnetic waves — to be converted to energy by scientists such as Nikola Tesla.
We also have existing proof of concept that these waves can transfer power as seen in the wireless charging features some higher-end smartphones have.
But as to the degree of how radio waves will figure in modern society, Curtiss made quite an overestimation.
Blackened teeth as a sign of beauty
Our third prediction can only be attributed to Savannah News, where someone once wrote that the women of 2023 will be shaving their heads and blackening their teeth to look more beautiful.
The men on the other hand were predicted to be wearing curls.
Again, another miss!
Though, women shaving their heads and men sporting long and curly locks are both common sights.
A total miss though occurs on the part where most women of today would purposely blacken their teeth as a sign of beauty… try next century, maybe?
It is worth noting that black teeth as a sign of beauty was once prevalent and is still seen in some remote Vietnamese tribes.
Fancy wrapping your insides?
This one certainly takes the cake for the odd predictions of life in 2023.
One prediction with no discernible source said: ‘“Kidney cosies” will be worn to protect the kidneys on chilly days, just the same as a teapot… is kept warm by a “tea cosy”.’
There are a lot of questions that this one raises, the most basic of which is how does one dress a kidney, much less any internal organ, with the intent to keep it warm?
Without question, this one is a hard miss.
Wireless wars and telepathic babies
‘The war of 2023 will naturally be a wireless war, for there is no end to the possibilities of this wonderful force.’
This next prediction is credited to a certain Professor A.M. Low was made perhaps in the same spirit as Curtiss’s in that the two were optimistic about the potential of radio-based power.
That said, perhaps it would be more apt in today’s context to view his words in terms of cyber warfare, which is very much a real threat.
The Centre for Strategic and International Studies has a list of notable state-sponsored cyber attacks, one of which was done on Ukrainian and Polish transport and related firms by a Russian hacking group.
It would be safe to say that Low’s hunch is correct, but the second part is still in the realm of imagination, as it is noted that: ‘Professor Low concludes that it is quite possible that when civilisation has advanced another century, mental telepathy will exist in embryo, and will form a very useful method of communication.’
It doesn’t take an expert to say that this is way off the mark…
All of us are sights to behold
And this last prediction is one, as the saying goes, that is best left to the eye of the beholder.
‘Beauty contests will be unnecessary as there will be so many beautiful people that it will be almost impossible to select winners,’ it said.
Factually speaking, beauty contests like The Miss Universe are still very much around, so that’s a mark against this prediction.
It's certainly quite incredible to take a look back at some of the musings and theories from a century ago.
Though some of their predictions were pretty spot on, it just shows how unpredictable life can be.
Now, if only we could successfully predict the upcoming lotto numbers… Kidding!
So, what’s your reaction to these predictions from a century ago? Can you think of what life would be like in 2123?
Let us know your thoughts and predictions below!
But even more amazing is being able to read what people back then thought life would be like in 2023.
Through scouring historical newspapers, a University of Calgary researcher and historical newspaper specialist, Paul Fairie, recently discovered some spot-on and downright wacky predictions from the 1900s.
From a four-hour work day to technological leaps, there was certainly a lot of speculation around what life would look like by now.
Let's take a look at what was speculated, what came true, and the points that were wildly off the mark!
A half day’s worth of work is the norm
Dr Charles Steinmetz wasn’t too far off about how relevant electricity would be. Image Credit: Twitter/@paulisci
Our first prediction as found by Fairie comes from Dr Charles Proteus Steinmetz, who was once an ‘eminent electrical engineer’ of the General Electric Company and ‘successor-elect of Thomas Edison’.
A newspaper clipping with the title ‘No More Hard Work by 2023!’ attributes the following to Dr Steinmetz: ‘the time is coming when there will be no long drudgery and that people will toil not more than four hours a day, owing to the work of electricity’.
This prediction has hits and misses in itself, considering that modern society does run on many things which include electricity.
Recent technological advances such as automation of repetitive tasks and the rise of electric-powered machines taking over what once were manual jobs (ahem, self-checkouts) give Dr Steinmetz’s vision grains of truth.
For the most part, though, four-hour work days as the norm remains a long way off as eight hours is still considered the standard shift length.
One can’t help but hope though…
Radio-powered machines
We encounter radio waves in everyday life, but one man in 1923 thought it would be a main energy source. Stock Image Credit: Pexels/SONIC
Glenn Curtiss, recognised as one of the pillars of US aviation history, put forth a rather puzzling prediction.
A newspaper clipping attributed to him says by 2023, petrol would have been phased out in favour of radio as an energy source.
This isn’t exactly far-fetched as it has long been theorised that it is possible for radio waves — also known as electromagnetic waves — to be converted to energy by scientists such as Nikola Tesla.
We also have existing proof of concept that these waves can transfer power as seen in the wireless charging features some higher-end smartphones have.
But as to the degree of how radio waves will figure in modern society, Curtiss made quite an overestimation.
Blackened teeth as a sign of beauty
Some cultures throughout history have found blackened teeth as a sign of beauty. Image Credit: Reddit/u/Josette22
Our third prediction can only be attributed to Savannah News, where someone once wrote that the women of 2023 will be shaving their heads and blackening their teeth to look more beautiful.
The men on the other hand were predicted to be wearing curls.
Again, another miss!
Though, women shaving their heads and men sporting long and curly locks are both common sights.
A total miss though occurs on the part where most women of today would purposely blacken their teeth as a sign of beauty… try next century, maybe?
It is worth noting that black teeth as a sign of beauty was once prevalent and is still seen in some remote Vietnamese tribes.
Fancy wrapping your insides?
Have your kidneys ever needed warming? Stock Image Credit: Pixabay
This one certainly takes the cake for the odd predictions of life in 2023.
One prediction with no discernible source said: ‘“Kidney cosies” will be worn to protect the kidneys on chilly days, just the same as a teapot… is kept warm by a “tea cosy”.’
There are a lot of questions that this one raises, the most basic of which is how does one dress a kidney, much less any internal organ, with the intent to keep it warm?
Without question, this one is a hard miss.
Wireless wars and telepathic babies
A professor in 1923 predicted that babies would develop mental powers a century later. Stock Image Credit: Pexels/Daniel Reche
‘The war of 2023 will naturally be a wireless war, for there is no end to the possibilities of this wonderful force.’
This next prediction is credited to a certain Professor A.M. Low was made perhaps in the same spirit as Curtiss’s in that the two were optimistic about the potential of radio-based power.
That said, perhaps it would be more apt in today’s context to view his words in terms of cyber warfare, which is very much a real threat.
The Centre for Strategic and International Studies has a list of notable state-sponsored cyber attacks, one of which was done on Ukrainian and Polish transport and related firms by a Russian hacking group.
It would be safe to say that Low’s hunch is correct, but the second part is still in the realm of imagination, as it is noted that: ‘Professor Low concludes that it is quite possible that when civilisation has advanced another century, mental telepathy will exist in embryo, and will form a very useful method of communication.’
It doesn’t take an expert to say that this is way off the mark…
All of us are sights to behold
An anonymous prediction for 2023 said that beauty contests would be obsolete as everyone would be beautiful. Screengrab Credit: YouTube/Miss Universe Australia
And this last prediction is one, as the saying goes, that is best left to the eye of the beholder.
‘Beauty contests will be unnecessary as there will be so many beautiful people that it will be almost impossible to select winners,’ it said.
Factually speaking, beauty contests like The Miss Universe are still very much around, so that’s a mark against this prediction.
It's certainly quite incredible to take a look back at some of the musings and theories from a century ago.
Though some of their predictions were pretty spot on, it just shows how unpredictable life can be.
Now, if only we could successfully predict the upcoming lotto numbers… Kidding!
So, what’s your reaction to these predictions from a century ago? Can you think of what life would be like in 2123?
Let us know your thoughts and predictions below!
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