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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.

▲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.

▲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.

▲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.

▲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.

▲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.

▲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.

▲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.

▲'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.

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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.

▲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.

▲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.

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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.

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

▲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.

▲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.

▲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.

▲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.

▲'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.

▲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.

▲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.

▲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.

▲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.

▲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.

▲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.

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'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.

Mind-blowing book predictions that actually came true

Wuhan-400: was coronavirus predicted four decades ago?

25/10/24 por StarsInsider

LIFESTYLE Books

A writer's imagination is a powerful tool. Not only can it create fictional universes, it can sometimes even predict the future. Don't believe it? The creepiest prediction has just been brought to light by the internet, stemming from a 1981 novel by horror writer Dean Koontz. It appears have predicted the outbreak of a killer virus known as “Wuhan-400,” which happens to be the name of the city where coronavirus originated.

Curious for more? Click through for some amazing examples of how a writer's imagination can manifest itself into real-life events.