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An article by engineer John Elfreth Watkins Jr. published in 'The Ladies' Home Journal' in 1900 listed a number of predictions for the next 100 years.

'What may happen in the next hundred years' guessed at what the world would look like in the year 2000. While some of the predictions were too optimistic and somewhat unrealistic, others were eerily accurate.

Curious? Browse through the gallery and find out which predictions came true, and which didn't.

▲People would be connected around the world through cameras and screens. This is essentially the internet. Well done, Mr Watkins Jr.!

▲These would be abandoned because they'd become unnecessary, as spelling by sound would be adopted. He suggested language would become made up of condensed words. This part at least somehow happened, with internet and texting slang.

▲The prediction was that, through this method, a physician would be able to see and photograph a living throbbing heart, as well as any other organ. Plus, they would be able to photograph and magnify the image. Sound familiar?

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The article predicted that ready-cooked meals would be available at places similar to the bakeries of the time. Pretty accurate!

▲It went on to say that, these meals would be prepared in labs instead of kitchens, and chemicals would be used to wash and kill the microbes in the cooking utensils.

▲With live streaming, this is now possible. The article also mentioned automatic instruments and added that "many devices will add to the emotional effect of music." Electronic music, synths, and effects, anyone?

▲Giant guns will shoot at long range (check!) Balloons and flying machines will carry cameras (check!). These photos will have high resolution (check again!).

▲John Elfreth Watkins Jr. essentially predicted that cars would make horses obsolete, for both farming and daily life. He just didn't get the price right.

▲Yet another prediction that came true.

▲Turning hot and cold air on in your home just like you would with a tap for water. That air conditioner was predicted back in 1900!

▲These insects supposedly would all have been exterminated by the year 2000. All water would be treated, so no mosquitoes or flies would be able to breed and proliferate. We wish he'd have got that one right!

▲Color photography did take photography to another level. The prediction came true!

▲"Winter will be turned into summer and night into day by the farmer." Electricity used in farming is nothing new in our day and age.

▲Well, while they're not telegraphed, sending a photograph from one part of the world to the other has been made possible since the birth of the internet.

▲And coal would not be used to fuel trains. He got this one right. Japan's L0 Series, for instance, can travel up to speeds of 375 mph.

▲Although English is not currently the language with the most speakers in the world (that would be Mandarin), it is widely spoken globally.

▲It might have seemed like a futuristic thing back in 1900, but this is not that hard to achieve nowadays.

▲Traffic would be high above or below ground. Cities would be free from all noises. While we can relate a little more to the first part, the latter is unfortunately not a reality.

▲As appealing as it sounds, this did not become a reality. Though genetically modified fruit might get us there sometime, who knows?

▲Plus free medical care, free meals, books, and clothes for poor students. This is still a dream for many countries around the world.

▲Only those kept enclosed. Rats and mice will have been exterminated. Cattle and sheep will have no horns. Animals will be bred for food purposes only. While there are plenty of animals bred for food, there are also many wild animals out there.

▲Exercise would be compulsory in schools and start in nursery. It was also predicted that anyone unable to walk 10 miles would be deemed unfit. Not 100% accurate, but PE classes did become a reality.

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They predicted that coal would be scarce, although they said it wouldn't completely disappear until the years 2050 to 2300. Water-based electricity was predicted as the future.

▲Not only that, but sugar cane would produce twice the sugar!

▲Drugs would be taken through the skin, or carried through an electric current. We're not completely there yet.

▲These would be used by the military to transport goods and men, and by scientists. These would not compete with cars or vessels. Somewhat right, we'd say.

▲Packages would be delivered by pneumatic tubes instead of store wagons. Not quite right, but are we skipping this step and moving to drones instead?

▲It would take just two days to go from the US to the UK, thanks to the fast electric ships. These ships would have a mechanism that would allow them to go underwater safely during a storm. We're not quite there yet, unfortunately.

▲Refrigerators on land and sea would allow more exotic fruits to grow in an area where they wouldn't naturally grow.

▲The prediction was that Americans would grow between one and two inches taller, and life expectancy would rise to 50, instead of 30! Americans' height has increased around two inches in 100 years, and life expectancy has increased significantly.

▲The prediction was that there would be somewhere between 350 and 500 million people in the United States. Fast forward 100 years, and the US had around 285 million. Significant growth, but not 500 million.

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Liquid-air refrigerators would keep food fresh for longer and those caught selling food exposed to air would be prosecuted. Not quite right.

Learn more about end of the world predictions.

Predictions from 1900 that did (and didn't) come true

Some of these predictions were eerily accurate!

07/10/19 por StarsInsider

LIFESTYLE Society

An article by engineer John Elfreth Watkins Jr. published in 'The Ladies' Home Journal' in 1900 listed a number of predictions for the next 100 years.

Curious? Browse through the gallery and find out which predictions came true, and which didn't.