© Shutterstock

Coronavirus -

Dean Koontz's novel 'The Eyes of Darkness' (1981) refers to the deadly virus as the "perfect weapon" in biological warfare, named "Wuhan-400" because it was developed at a lab near the city of Wuhan—where the very real coronavirus originated. The creepy prediction has sparked a number of conspiracy theories.

© Getty Images

Mars has two moons - Jonathan Swift wrote in his book 'Gulliver's Travels' (1735) that Mars had two moons. This fact was only discovered 142 years later, in 1872.

© iStock

Electric submarines - Jules Verne's classic novel, '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,' mentions the use of submarines powered by electricity. Ninety years later, in the 1960s, electric submarines became a reality.

© iStock

Credit cards - The credit card was predicted 62 years before its invention in 1950. In Edward Bellamy's book 'Looking Backwards' (1888), the author writes about using this type of card.

© iStock

Solar sails - In 1865, Jules Verne wrote in the book 'From the Earth to the Moon' about solar sails, used to travel through space. In 2010, 145 years later, the first solar sail (IKAROS) was used.

© Shutterstock

Messages in the sky - The ability of airplanes to leave a message in the sky was first thought of in another Jules Verne novel, 'In The Year 2889' (1889). Twenty-five years later, in 1915, the feat was performed at a show in San Francisco.

© iStock

Automatic doors - It was in 1899 that H.G. Wells included in his book 'The Sleeper Wakes' the concept of automatic doors. The doors were invented in 1960.

© iStock

Tanks - In the 1903 book 'The Land Ironclads,' H.G. Wells wrote a story about tanks, although these were only used 13 years later, in World War I.

© Shutterstock

Lie detector - 'The Achievements of Luther Trant' is a 1910 book by Edwin Balmer and William MacHarg that makes reference to a lie detector. Fourteen years later, in 1924, the first polygraph was used.

© iStock

Solar energy -

Hugo Gernsback wrote a book in 1911 called 'Ralph 124C 41+,' in which he mentions the use of solar energy. Sixty-seven years later, in 1978, the first solar-powered calculators were invented.

© Shutterstock

Atomic bombs - In the novel 'The World Set Free' (1914), H.G. Wells predicted the use of atomic bombs. Thirty-one years later, in 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan.

© Shutterstock

Voicemail - H.G. Wells made yet another prediction in his book 'Men Like Gods,' in reference to voicemail. Fifty-seven years later, in 1980, voicemail was invented.

© iStock

In vitro fertilization -

The book 'Daedalus,' also known as 'Science and the Future,' was written in 1924 by J.B.S. Haldane and includes the concept of in vitro fertilization. Only 53 years later, in 1977, was the first successful in vitro fertilization performed.

© Shutterstock

Genetic engineering -

Manipulating genetics only became possible in 1972. However, in the 1932 book 'Brave New World,' Aldous Huxley wrote about this concept.

© Shutterstock

Earphones - In Ray Bradbury's novel 'Fahrenheit 451,' the author makes reference to a device perfectly molded to the ears. Many years later, the first earphones were created.

© Shutterstock

Spying government - George Orwell's '1984' was released in 1948 and describes the various ways a government spies on its citizens. In 2013, the world was shocked to find out that the NSA collected personal information and spied on US citizens.

© Shutterstock

Communications satellite - Arthur C. Clarke wrote '2001: A Space Odyssey' in 1951, where he mentions the use of communication satellites. Fourteen years later, in 1965, the first communication satellite was launched into space.

© Shutterstock

Virtual reality - Arthur C. Clarke's 'The City and the Stars,' which was published in 1956, talks about virtual reality games. Ten years later, in 1966, the first virtual reality flight simulator game was released.

© iStock

Space tourism - 'A Fall of Moondust' is a book by Arthur C. Clarke and talks about the idea of ​​space tourism. Thirty-nine years later, in 2001, Dennis Tito became the first space tourist.

© iStock

Water bed - Robert Heinlein wrote in his book 'Stranger in a Strange Land' about ​​water beds. The first water mattress was created and patented 10 years later.

© Shutterstock

European Union - The concept of the European Union was first mentioned in John Brunner's 1968 book 'Stand on Zanzibar.' However, the European Union only became a reality in 1993.

© iStock

Bionic limbs - The use of bionic limbs was first covered in Martin Caidin's book 'Cyborg' (1972). Just 41 years later, in 2013, the first implant of a bionic leg was successfully performed.

© iStock

Real-time translator - Douglas Adam's 1980 book 'The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy' introduces the concept of a real-time translator. In 2014, Google updated its translation app to include this feature.

© iStock

Internet - In 1984, William Gibson's book 'Neuromancer' predicted a cyber space where hacking is possible. Seven years later, in the early 1990s, the World Wide Web was initiated.

© iStock

Spacecrafts that would return to Earth in splashdown capsules - In the book 'The Earth to the Moon,' Jules Verne gave a surprisingly accurate description of how traveling to the moon would occur. In 1969, about 104 years later, it happened exactly as predicted by the author.

© iStock

A computer beating a human in a game of chess -

'The Age of Intelligent Machines' was written in 1990 by Ray Kurzweil and told the story of a computer that could beat a human in a game of chess. Seven years later, in 1997, the IBM Deep Blue computer became the world's chess champion.

See also: Meet the robots of the world

© iStock