Predictions and Observations that Failed the Test of Time
Hindsight is 20-20
Here are some quotes that the authors may wish had not been recorded for posterity.
William Thomas Lord Kelvin, Famous British mathematician and physicist: "Radio has no future."
Business Week, August 2, 1968: "With over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big slice of the U.S. market."
Marshal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre: "Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value."
Workers that Edwin L. Drake tried to recruit to work on his project to drill for oil in 1859: "Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy."
Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC), maker of big business mainframe computers, arguing against the PC in 1977: "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
T. Craven, FCC Commissioner, in 1961: "There is practically no chance communications space satellites will be used to provide better telephone, telegraph, television, or radio service inside the United States."
Charlie Chaplin, actor, producer, director, and studio founder, 1916: "The cinema is little more than a fad. It's canned drama. What audiences really want to see is flesh and blood on the stage."
Dr. Dionysys Larder (1793-1859), professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy, University College London: "Rail travel at high speed is not possible because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxia."
Darryl Zanuck, movie producer, 20th Century Fox, 1946: "Television won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night."
Napoleon Bonaparte, when told of Robert Fulton's steamboat: "How, sir, would you make a ship sail against the wind and currents by lighting a bonfire under her deck? I pray you, excuse me, I have not the time to listen to such nonsense."
One wonders if today's technology predictions may be considered short-sighted and humorous in the not so distant future.
Source:
Personal research
Published by Major Jester
Happily married baby boomer with a beautiful wife, 5 children, 3 grandchildren: the best family one could ever hope for. View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentHahahah! Hilarious! This was a great read. :)
Hahahah! Hilarious! This was a great read. :)
This is just great. I'm still snickering over all the Y2K stuff that never materialized.
Classic cases of foot in mouth, all!
Very interesting and well researched. That'll teach us to keep our big mouth's shut!
This was a fun read. Ken Olson certainly missed the mark. Lots of people are eating their words about the internet too.
Love this, Maj. Fun stuff!
How about the RMS Titanic as the unsinkable ship? Also, the multitude of promises entitled, The Car of the Future. Scientific American magazine painted the automobile as a near-Utopian vehicle. But my favorite is the religious community that thought the Bible's statement there would be a world-wide preaching work could never be fulfilled.