Eighteen predictions from 50 years ago that were stunningly accurate

The folks at Buzzfeed tracked down predictions made in 1964 by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov about what the year 2014 will look
like, and the accuracy of those forecasts are so spot-on that it’s almost
creepy.

Looking 50 years into the future, Asimov correctly
predicted microwave dinners and home coffee makers for people on the go;
stationary satellites in space that would allow people to dial up anyone
anywhere on the planet; escalators that will move people quickly on their way; and
cordless electronic appliances and gadgets.

Among his many prognostications, perhaps the most
stunning was a prediction that had nothing to do with technology but accurately
assessed the future world and U.S. populations. He foresaw 6.5 billion people across
the globe in 2014 and 350 million in America. Nailed it.

Buzzfeed points out that Asimov made his predictions in
the context of what people might see at the World’s Fair 50 years hence. And
they reach this conclusion:

“It’s worth noting that, while quite impressive, Asimov
didn’t get everything right. 2014 will most surely come and go without ‘jets of
compressed air [that] will lift land vehicles off the highways.’ He also
predicted that the entire East Coast from Boston to Washington would merge into
one large mega city, which seems unlikely at this point in time. But perhaps
the most telling (and disheartening) is Asimov’s inaccurate notion that we’d
even have a World’s Fair in 2014.”