Too funny, I especially like their concept of food & cooking, mmmmmmm..."sawdust and wood pulp". http://architecture.mit.edu/house_n...hefuture/MIRACLES OF THE NEXT FIFTY YEARS.htm
"Discarded paper table "linen" and rayon underwear are bought by chemical factories to be converted into candy." They really expected us to eat used underwear as candy?
I do remember reading in the Weekly Reader in my thrid grade class that there were companies that were going to try to recycle bubble gum. Does anybody else remember stories about that?
I like how the house of 2000 only costs $5,000. You can't even find a decent house these days for 20 times that. Edit: but as an aspiring meteorologist, I got the biggest kick outta this...
Curious how the MIT scholars envisioned Jane doing all the housework and cooking while, in business, each man is surrounded by a dozen television screens.
Yes, but the plane flight from Chicago to Paris also costs $5000. Oh, and you can get dissolvable paper cups for $1 per dozen. Funny how he nailed the fax machine, teleconferencing and the fact we wouldn't cure cancer. He also go close on microwaves, radiant heating and a few other things. But, he completely overshot on the personal day-to-day living stuff - flying in rocket jets, hosing down our synthetic house, lamps run on atomic power, etc - while he WAY undershot on things like space travel. Seems like predictions often try to turn our personal lives into the Jetsons but the world of science and technology is still set in the 50's.
Perhaps we should start a thread on how we think things will look in the year 2050. I know how things will look for me in 2050...I'll be looking up at a tombstone cuz I'll be dead!
According to the MIT website, the article is actually from a 1950 edition of "Popular Mechanics." I think that might help explain the non-scholarly tone of the piece.
I'm thinking of getting the wife one of these handy microwave ovens for her birthday. A good idea? As Jeff points out...amazing what they got right...and what they got wrong. Fun article.
I noticed this thread and thought it was really funny. I'm actually writing my Master's thesis in the group that has this article posted on their website. Even though our group used to be called "home of the future" we do not really focus on the gadgets and appliances of possible future homes. I think part of the reason is because 50 years later the predictions tend to seem rather silly. For a brief summary, I'd say the architects in our group are interested in the design process of future homes. How do you create a system to design homes that are modular, customizable, and adaptable to their occupants? The computer scientists and other staff are working on how to embed sensors within the home environment in order to encourage healthier lifestyles. We also do a good amount of interface design, vision technology, and activity recognition with wearable sensors. http://architecture.mit.edu/house_n/ gives more information.
