Predictions from 1900 that did (and didn't) come true - An article by engineer John Elfreth Watkins Jr. published in 'The Ladies' Home Journal' in 1900 listed a number of predictions for the next 100 years. 

'What may happen in the next hundred years' guessed at what the world would look like in the year 2000. While some of the predictions were too optimistic and somewhat unrealistic, others were eerily accurate. 

Curious? Browse through the gallery and find out which predictions came true, and which didn't.

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Man will see around the world - People would be connected around the world through cameras and screens. This is essentially the internet. Well done, Mr Watkins Jr.!

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The letters C, Q, and X would disappear from the alphabet - These would be abandoned because they'd become unnecessary, as spelling by sound would be adopted. He suggested language would become made up of condensed words. This part at least somehow happened, with internet and texting slang.

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Invisible rays of light - The prediction was that, through this method, a physician would be able to see and photograph a living throbbing heart, as well as any other organ. Plus, they would be able to photograph and magnify the image. Sound familiar?

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Ready-cooked meals -

The article predicted that ready-cooked meals would be available at places similar to the bakeries of the time. Pretty accurate!

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Ready-cooked meals - It went on to say that, these meals would be prepared in labs instead of kitchens, and chemicals would be used to wash and kill the microbes in the cooking utensils. 

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Grand opera will be telephoned to private homes - With live streaming, this is now possible. The article also mentioned automatic instruments and added that "many devices will add to the emotional effect of music." Electronic music, synths, and effects, anyone?

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Aerial warships and forts on wheels - Giant guns will shoot at long range (check!) Balloons and flying machines will carry cameras (check!). These photos will have high resolution (check again!).

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Cars will be cheaper than horses - John Elfreth Watkins Jr. essentially predicted that cars would make horses obsolete, for both farming and daily life. He just didn't get the price right.

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Telephones around the world will be wireless - Yet another prediction that came true.

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Hot and cold air on tap - Turning hot and cold air on in your home just like you would with a tap for water. That air conditioner was predicted back in 1900! 

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No mosquitoes or flies! - These insects supposedly would all have been exterminated by the year 2000. All water would be treated, so no mosquitoes or flies would be able to breed and proliferate. We wish he'd have got that one right!

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Photographs will reproduce all of nature's colors - Color photography did take photography to another level. The prediction came true!

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Vegetables grown by electricity - "Winter will be turned into summer and night into day by the farmer." Electricity used in farming is nothing new in our day and age.

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Photographs will be telegraphed from any distance - Well, while they're not telegraphed, sending a photograph from one part of the world to the other has been made possible since the birth of the internet.

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Trains will travel at 150 mph - And coal would not be used to fuel trains. He got this one right. Japan's L0 Series, for instance, can travel up to speeds of 375 mph.

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English would become extensively spoken - Although English is not currently the language with the most speakers in the world (that would be Mandarin), it is widely spoken globally.

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Black, blue, and green roses - It might have seemed like a futuristic thing back in 1900, but this is not that hard to achieve nowadays.

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No steel cars in large cities - Traffic would be high above or below ground. Cities would be free from all noises. While we can relate a little more to the first part, the latter is unfortunately not a reality.

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Strawberries as large as apples - As appealing as it sounds, this did not become a reality. Though genetically modified fruit might get us there sometime, who knows?

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Free university education - Plus free medical care, free meals, books, and clothes for poor students. This is still a dream for many countries around the world.

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There will be no wild animals - Only those kept enclosed. Rats and mice will have been exterminated. Cattle and sheep will have no horns. Animals will be bred for food purposes only. While there are plenty of animals bred for food, there are also many wild animals out there.

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Everybody will walk 10 miles - Exercise would be compulsory in schools and start in nursery. It was also predicted that anyone unable to walk 10 miles would be deemed unfit. Not 100% accurate, but PE classes did become a reality.

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Coal will not be used for heating or cooking -

They predicted that coal would be scarce, although they said it wouldn't completely disappear until the years 2050 to 2300. Water-based electricity was predicted as the future.

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Peas as large as beets - Not only that, but sugar cane would produce twice the sugar!

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Few drugs will be swallowed - Drugs would be taken through the skin, or carried through an electric current. We're not completely there yet.

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There will be air-ships - These would be used by the military to transport goods and men, and by scientists. These would not compete with cars or vessels. Somewhat right, we'd say.

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Store purchases by tube - Packages would be delivered by pneumatic tubes instead of store wagons. Not quite right, but are we skipping this step and moving to drones instead?

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Two days to cross the Atlantic - It would take just two days to go from the US to the UK, thanks to the fast electric ships. These ships would have a mechanism that would allow them to go underwater safely during a storm. We're not quite there yet, unfortunately.

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Oranges will grow in Philadelphia - Refrigerators on land and sea would allow more exotic fruits to grow in an area where they wouldn't naturally grow. 

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Americans will be taller - The prediction was that Americans would grow between one and two inches taller, and life expectancy would rise to 50, instead of 30! Americans' height has increased around two inches in 100 years, and life expectancy has increased significantly.

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500 million people - The prediction was that there would be somewhere between 350 and 500 million people in the United States. Fast forward 100 years, and the US had around 285 million. Significant growth, but not 500 million.

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No foods will be exposed -

Liquid-air refrigerators would keep food fresh for longer and those caught selling food exposed to air would be prosecuted. Not quite right.

Learn more about end of the world predictions.

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