19th Century Artist Predicted Whale-Shaped Flying Cars by 2000

In 1882 French illustrator Albert Robida (1848–1926) completed a wildly futuristic engraving: his vision of fashionable Parisian opera attendees, in the year 2000

In tandem, Robida wrote a science fiction trilogy in the late nineteenth century, which drew comparison to author Jules Verne's renown works, such as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. In Robida's novels he predicted many phenomena of the forthcoming modern world: mass tourism, pollution, guided missiles, chemical weapons and the emancipation of women.

Most striking was the Téléphonoscope, a flat screen television display delivering 24-hour news, programs, education and face-to-face communication. Read more...