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.

Asimov in 1965

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.”