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The Future That Never Happened: 13 Failed Predictions That Couldn't Have Been More Wrong

13 Failed Predictions THAT COULDN T HAVE been more WRONG 1859 "DRILL FOR OIL? YOU MEAN DRILL INTO THE GROUND TO TRY AND FIND OIL? YOU'RE CRAZY." ASSOCIATES OF EDWIN L. DRAKE REFUSING HIS SUGGESTION TO DRILL FOR OIL 1873 NO SURGEON WILL EVER OPERATE ON THE HEART OR BRAIN: "THE ABDOMEN, THE CHEST, AND THE BRAIN WILL FOREVER BE SHUT FROM THE INTRUSION OF THE WISE AND HUMANE SURGEON." SIR JOHN ERIC ERICKSEN, BRITISH SURGEON, APPOINTED SURGEON- EXTRAORDINARY TO QUEEN VICTORIA 1878 "WHEN THE PARIS EXHIBITION CLOSES, ELECTRIC LIGHT WILL CLOSE WITH IT AND NO MORE WILL BE HEARD OF IT." OXFORD PROFESSOR ERASMUS WILSON 1883 "X-RAYS WILL PROVE TO BE A HOAX." LORD KELVIN, PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY 1888 "IS IT NOT DEMONSTRATED THAT A TRUE FLYING MACHINE, SELF-RAISING, SELF-SUSTAINING, SELF-PROPELLING, IS PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE?" PROFESSOR JOSEPH LE CONTE IN POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 1903 "THE HORSE IS HERE TO STAY, BUT THE AUTOMOBILE IS ONLY A NOVELTY-A FAD." THE PRESIDENT OF THE MICHIGAN SAVINGS BANK ADVISING HENRY FORD'S LAWYER, HORACE RACKHAM, NOT TO INVEST IN THE FORD MOTOR COMPANY 1912 THE SYRACUSE HERALD. 5E TITANIC'S PASSENGERS ALL RESCUED Gini Neto Liner Limping in Toward lialifux, Badly Dannged s A HD NE O RO: tas SHP CRASHCS INTO ICEBERG AT NIGHT "TITANIC PASSENGERS ALL RESCUED: GIANT NEW LINER LIMPING IN TOWARD HALIFAX, BADLY DAMAGED." THE NEWSPAPER THOUGHT IT WAS BEING SYRACUSE HERALD PUNCTILIOUS IN PRINTING THAT THE SHIP HAD PERISHED BUT ITS PASSENGERS HAD NOT. ALAS, THEY WERE ONLY HALF RIGHT. 1919 "TAKING THE BEST LEFT-HANDED THE BURLY BABE BECAME PITCHER IN BASEBALL AND THE FIRST PLAYER TO HIT 60 HOME RUNS IN ONE SEASON (1927), A 34-YEAR RECORD. HIS LIFETIME CONVERTING HIM INTO A RIGHT FIELDER IS ONE OF THE DUMBEST THINGS I EVER HEARD." TRIS SPEAKER, BASEBALL HALL OF FAMER ON BABE RUTH TOTAL OF 714 HOME RUNS WAS A RECORD FOR 39 YEARS. 1920 (•••- PISH POSH. NASA HAS PULLED OFF 135 SPACE "A ROCKET WILL NEVER SHUTTLE MISSIONS SINCE BE ABLE TO LEAVE THE 1981. A TOTAL OF 355 EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE." INTREPID EXPLORERS HAVE LEFT THE EARTH'S THE NEW YORK TIMES, JANUARY 13, 1920 ATMOSPHERE. 1944 "YOU BETTER GET SECRETARIAL WORK OR GET MARRIED." EMMELINE SNIVELY, ADVISING WOULD-BE MODEL MARILYN MONROE IN 1944 WHEN THE COMELY NORMA JEAN APPLIED TO THE BLUE BOOK MODELING AGENCY IN 1944, SHE WAS RUDELY REBUFFED. SHE DYED HER BRUNETTE HAIR BLONDE, SIGNED WITH THE AGENCY, AND ... WELL, YOU KNOW THE REST. 1948 "TELEVISION WON'T LAST. IT'S JUST A FLASH IN THE PAN." MARY SOMERVILLE, PIONEER OF RADIO EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTS, 1948 THERE ARE 1.4 BILLION TELEVISIONS IN HOMES AROUND THE WORLD, AND THE AVERAGE AMERICAN WATCHES – EGADS! -- MORE THAN 35 HOURS OF TELEVISION PER WEEK. 1955 "ROCK 'N'ROLL? IT WILL BE GONE BY JUNE." VARIETY MAGAZINE, 2005 "THIS WEBSITE VENTURE IS THE SORT OF FAILURE THAT IS SIMPLY UNSURVIVABLE." NIKKI FINKE FOR LA WEEKLY ON THE LAUNCH OF THE HUFFINGTON POST ENJOY THE UNUSUAL RESPONSIBLY Brought to you by visual.ly HENDRICK'S THE HUFFINGTON POST HENDRICK'S GIN DESIGN: ANTONIO DI VICO 1873: http://www.rinkworks.com/said/predictions.shtml; http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-human-heart-transplant I878: http://listverse.com/2007/10/28/top-30-failed-technology-predictions/ 1S83: http://listverse.com/2007/10/28/top 30-failed-technology predictions/ 1899: http://www.usptogov 1919: http://thechrisvossshow.com 1920: http://www.nasagov 1948 reality blurb http://www.nielsen.com SOURCES 380

The Future That Never Happened: 13 Failed Predictions That Couldn't Have Been More Wrong

shared by jaclyn.bernstein on Feb 03
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Humans love to think they can predict the future. Here's a timeline of every time we've gotten it spectacularly, terribly wrong.

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