This naive and touching retro-futurism

The future always seems to us is inextricably linked with this. Like generals preparing for the last war, and we endow their dreams in the future features of the known technologies today. But it will be decades, our grandchildren will probably be touched and giggle over the naivete of our ideas about the future. Of course, because they are something to live in it and know how things turned out. The future always comes imperceptibly, downright mundane, without pathos. Now and Marty McFly yesterday flew , levitating above the ground and come up with a skate, a hologram on stage and sing. You'll see, soon the car will fly.

Today we are considering with a condescending smile pictures, in which the future - the way in which it was represented by 50-60 years ago. And the visualized fantasies 80-100-year-old eyes welling with tears of emotion. Even pity that the future has become what it became, not the way it was presented at the beginning of the XX century. Oh, very colorful and scale futurists of the time depict the early achievement of mankind.

In the middle of the last century tehnogikov dreams have become much closer to the reality of today. Some of the technology and gadgets truly appeared in our lives, but some may be coming soon. Something tried to do, but for some reason did not work, and some imagination never be realized. But still very interesting to consider illustrations of the time, especially the 1950-1970-ies - the heyday tehnoutopizma. One of the most prolific artists of the Futurists at the time was Arthur Radebaugh (Arthur Radebaugh). At the turn of 1950-1960, he created a lot of illustrations to inspire people to dream of a brighter future.

So, how in those years seemed not too distant future? Under the cut a lot of pictures!

In the late 1950s, the US auto industry was in crisis. Reducing specific fuel consumption was no longer sufficient to maintain the sales of cars - needed a different way to spur people's interest in cars. So there was an illustration in which he vice Chrysler President James Zeder (James Zeder) predicted that in a few years we can expect a stock car on solar batteries. But something will probably not happen.



The weather is always dictate their terms. No matter how all-powerful we currently may seem, the element makes us feel how insignificant man to nature. But this does not mean that we should give up. To protect from the weather, it was proposed to cover the house with adjacent glass domes. Pay attention to your company name in the text - Corning. Here you have the Gorilla Glass for the suburban area.



The history of humanity is thorny, almost all of its history took place in fear of starvation. That is why we so often "give up the slack" and eat at night - this instinct we inherited from our ancestors: because tomorrow may not be the food. Millions of years of primates (and all other types of living beings) every day fighting for food. Over the millennia, agricultural breeding, most of our usual cereal, vegetable and fruit crops have increased significantly in size. For example, modern looks giant potatoes compared to that excavated in the ancient open spaces of North America.

However, the current abundance of food in the countries of the "golden billion" may also be over soon. The population is growing rapidly, climatic changes lead to an increase in the number of droughts and floods, to accelerate desertification. In general, in the near future, we need to seriously reflect on the problem of feeding billions of mouths. So Radebaugh seen farmland future. Given the presence of gamma-ray spray it becomes clear why the yield is so unhealthy size.



The problem of fast and efficient inventory management has always played a crucial role for large commercial and industrial companies. The illustration shows the robots involved in the assembly and movement of cargo - the idea is already embodied in giant warehouses Amazon. Although modern warehouse robots did not look as cool, but rather resemble mailboxes with wheels.



After the Second World War in many countries, the birth rate has increased dramatically. Women yearned, the surviving soldiers returned from the front - after several years of horror and destruction to people like the quiet life. The well-fed and destroyed America, whose economy thanks to the war received a powerful impetus baby boom was particularly strong and was called Baby Boom. In the 1950s, many baby boomers results went to schools that were not ready for such an influx of students. Classes are overcrowded, teachers are not enough. Thus was born the idea of ​​distance learning.



The problem of saving people in areas of catastrophes and disasters is still one of the most acute. The abundance of private cars - a thing, of course, is good, but in the case of any trouble this causes the death of many people who, because of clogged roads can not get out of the danger zone. Perhaps offering their solution to the problem, Radebaugh inspired Martian tripods from "War of the Worlds».





The idea of ​​cars, otrinuvshego solid earth and soar , has long been humanity. Technique hovercraft though and does not have the same freedom as the flying machines, but nevertheless has a number of advantages to wheeled vehicles. However, the question arises: how to ensure the emergency brake ?! Release braking parachute?





In addition to the flying cars we've been dreaming about jetpacks. History knows many prototypes of such devices, but so far no one has managed to create a more or less decent device. The limited supply of fuel, greater difficulties with the handling, high temperature jets, the complexity of the design, noise - all this has not yet been overcome. Closest to the jetpack close packs, used as fuel ... water that is discharged from the high pressure, creating a reaction force. And the problem of lack of jetpacks for postmen we decided via e-mail.





Once road tunnel under the English Channel between France and Britain was one of the engineering wonders. But even during the Cold War were dreamers who wanted to join the underwater tunnel the US and Russia. Not across the Atlantic, of course! We are so accustomed to the adopted in our country the image map of the world that did not remember the Беринговом Strait between Chukotka and Alaska. However, it remains only to think of what would need such a tunnel? Is that due to global warming, both regions are sufficiently populated.



The excitement of colonization of other planets in our time greatly subsided, except that the news from Mars leads to a burst of optimism. The idea of ​​space displaced many supporters and opponents. It's hard to say if we ever colonize other stone balls, flying in a vacuum, but still on this cross is not available. In this illustration, Radebaugh offered to send space «Мэйфлауэры» from the moon.



Back in the late 1980s, the idea of ​​a watch with a function of personal wireless video seemed distant future. And in the middle of the century it was generally a high flight of fancy. Today, wearable electronics crept close to a similar functionality.



Do not you think that guy in the picture up to no good? Actually, all three of them did not look happy.

The valiant police officers worked hard. Because of continuous traffic jams often flashing beacons with spetssignalami not help pass. Radebaugh offered a rather strange solution to the problem - in the style of "high-sitting - I look away." However, it is not clear why this pepelats traffic lights on the roof.



Video communication has become one of the few fantastic technology that has become everyday reality. And much more convenient than the illustration.



In another approach, "sbycha dream» - unmanned vehicles . Of course, we expect such a daring design is not necessary, but we also go and not have cheap. By the way, passengers today rather bury in smartphones, what will communicate with each other, as in this upbeat illustration.



60 years ago, home media library presented as a collection of books and whether audio, or video reels, as well as a universal device for viewing and listening. It is also the "television recording device", that is the prototype of the VCR. As this stage of the future, we have already passed.



He argued that control the weather will be weapons in future wars. Why create a huge, high-tech and very costly arsenal when you can put the enemy to its knees by means of long-term droughts, floods and forest fires? Let him spend a lot of effort and money to rescue production cities for the purchase of food for the restoration of infrastructure. In the end, you can achieve mass migration. But at the same time, control the weather and can serve a useful purpose, preventing the same drought and floods. Or, for example, by raising the temperature of mirrors orbital in areas traditionally too cold for growing of some crops.



You live too far away from their loved ones and want to send them a gift card for a holiday? No need to go to the post office - enough to send via radio beam reflected from the moon greeting text, and then print it out and hand over to the addressee!



Today we can watch TV virtually anywhere in the world - thanks to the internet and satellites! And if the room is enough space, you can organize and TV in the wall with a projector. However, the solution has a number of disadvantages, so we assume it conditional. But in general, we can hope that the emergence of huge TV screens not wait so long. Maybe another 20 years?



Airports of the future were to become so large that passengers would have to be wound almost a kilometer to get to your waiting room and boarding gate. But people are lazy, do not want to go. Since Muhammad did not want to go to the mountain, you can create a mobile lounges with built-escalators for lifting on board the aircraft.



In a good restaurant waiters served quickly and politely, earning tips. But the good restaurants are few and not everyone can afford. A lower level institutions may encounter with negligence and with frank naplevatelstvo to visitors. And not everyone wants to chat with waiters. Exit - robot waiters. They have already appeared in some institutions of Asia. But while the sparse population, the device is not too dexterous, moving on wheels and not on the air cushion, and people can not always be replaced. But the beginning has already been made. It remains to wait for the home robot waiters with the "all-seeing eyes of the TV».







During the Cold War on both sides of the Atlantic developed martial psychotropic substances, allows you to display the enemy out of action nonlethal methods. Well, not a bad option.



The average modern bathrooms are markedly different in its design and content of what it was 50 years ago. But in terms of aesthetics and comfort, we still have more to strive for.



Electric cars have already been delivered in a series of "Tesla" travel through the highways, in the world there are more charging points. This piece of the future is already here.



We mentioned the overcrowding of the schools in the middle of the last century. As one of the solutions proposed computerized table for home schooling. The table has a screen with the image of teachers to screen tests, and electronic books. And the whole structure of something vaguely reminiscent of the dashboard of the modern car.



In the case of accidents it is necessary not only to evacuate people, but also help them in the field: to pull out of the rubble, providing medical aid, provide drinking water, heat, etc. This, according to Radebaugh, and helped to giant multi-purpose all-terrain vehicles.



The Russian supermarkets robotic terminals not yet taken root, and it is for the better, according to the issues that they raise. But just imagine that for the payment of the full shopping carts you simply list everything that it is. And you would have believed. After all, gentlemen believe in the word.



In the northern regions, snow can paralyze not only the car, but rail traffic. To combat snowdrifts used a powerful technique that works on the principle of mechanical removal of snow from the road. There is even a snow machines on which the jet engines of the old fighters - sweep very effectively.





But Radebaugh came up with the idea ... flamethrowers.



In the days of our grandfathers still dreamed of monitoring systems on a national scale. Yet there was no information networks, computers, cameras and more. And today we pay fines from automated registration systems and watch TV series "suspect", which can be considered almost a documentary.



Modern surgery allows miracles. Through small incisions are already doing complex operations - transplanted lenses, operated by brain and spinal cord. Gradually develop and robotic surgery, which in the future will help to solve the problem of shortage of qualified doctors in remote regions. A next step, according to Radebaugh must be bloodless surgery. It's enough to synchro-cyclotron and proton beam generator.



Of course, the problem of feeding a growing world population, we have to decide, increasing the efficiency of agriculture, bringing more fruitful plants, growing artificial proteins, algae and insects, and processing them. But that option Radebaugh not like to see brought to life: huge reservoirs with plastic (!), Which is mixed with organic matter, a suspicious man, looking like a Nazi scientist, something sticks clearly mutated tomatoes ... Thank you, but we are better than the old fashioned way, on six acres.



Forest fires - an absolute evil, it is obvious to everyone. And you need to deal with them (and preferably does not allow). Here are just vast expanses and lack of roads make it extremely difficult. Radebaugh suggested fire hazards ... bombard missiles with heat seekers, spray chemicals for fire suppression. The decision of the original, but then what to do with the forest, covered in chemistry?



Solar energy is, of course, will be used increasingly. In some regions, you can convert almost all households in the electric self. But the efficiency of solar panels is strongly dependent on the intensity and angle of incidence. Radebaugh offered to make rotating houses, which are the sunflowers will rotate to follow the sun. Romantic idea. By the way, offered to do the same premises of plastic.



Large cities now choking on cars and road eat very large areas of land scarce. Moreover, in many parts of the pavements are not too wide. Why not dream about a city where roads and sidewalks are at different levels, and moving sidewalks themselves as paths at airports?



The problem of the take-off in aviation and space has always been the sharpest way. Off the ground the car weighing tens or hundreds of tonnes that it has not fallen at the same time - not an easy task. A modern passenger aircraft required longer runways. As a method for solving this problem has been proposed a method for launching aircraft with the help of a giant rocket sling. We leave on the conscience of the Futurists physical and economic feasibility of this idea, I wonder something else: good runway, we have reduced to a circle, but where the aircraft then sit?



As you remember, the population is growing, and the meat is very much want to eat, and preferably more often. But at this rate of reproduction, we will be increasingly difficult to ensure a sufficient stock of small animals for subsequent slaughter. Perhaps we will come to the aid of genetic engineering, and we will be able to grow, say, meat beets.



We have already mentioned the idea of ​​orbital reflectors to control the weather.