How 2020 Looked in the Past

Futurists are experts who make predictions about how the world will change.

In the past, many futurists made bold predictions about the year 2020.

Some of these forecasts have come true, while others seem more suitable for science-fiction novels.

The most outrageous predictions probably came from about 100 years ago.

Back then, 2020 was still very far away and anything seemed possible.

For instance, some futurists in the 1910s believed that humans would stop eating meat by 2020.

But rather than citing health reasons, they said there would be a great shortage of meat, making it too expensive to consume.

Others predicted that humans would evolve physically, even losing some of their toes.

In the 1960s, Futurists were will certain that great changes would happen in 2020.

One famous novelist predicted that houses of the future would be able to fly.

Their owners would be able to lift off and move to anywhere they wished on earth.

Another futurist said every family would own their own helicopter.

Even in the 1990s, futurists continued to prognosticate, but as they got closer to 2020, their predictions became slightly more realistic.

Still, there were things they did not quite right.

For example, many were optimistic about space travel and predicted 2020 to be the year that humans land on Mars.

In reality, traveling to Mars is probably still at least many decade away. 

Another surprising prediction was about the internet, which was becoming more commonly used in the early 1990s.

Some skeptical futurists said it would not last because it could never be popular enough to replace paper books and physical stores.

 

• bold boʊld  용감한, 대담한   outrageous aʊtˈreɪdʒəs 너무나 충격적인, 언어도단인 (=scandalous)  아주 별난, 터무니없는  evolve iˈvɑːlv 진화하다[시키다]

• lift off  이륙하다 /   (우주선의) 발사  prognosticate prɑɡnɑ́stikèit 예지하다, 예언[예상]하다, 예측하다  optimistic |ɑːptɪ│mɪstɪk 낙관적인, 낙관하는 (=positive), (↔pessimistic)