Matt Novak

Matt Novak

 

Matt Novak is the author of the Paleofuture blog, which can now be found on Gizmodo.

Mr. Spacely takes a swing from his flying golf cart (1962)

A Futuristic Golf Game in the Sky

In the year 2062, you really, really don't want to hit a ball out of bounds

Motopia as illustrated in 1960 by Arthur Radebaugh for “Closer Than We Think”

Motopia: A Pedestrian Paradise

Visit the futuristic town where drivers and non-drivers live in perfect harmony

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Your Genetic Future: Horse-Dogs, Plantimals and Mini-Rhino Pets

A kids' magazine in the '80s hoped that by now we'd have a whole new array of pets to choose from

Elroy and Grandpa Jetson play “spaceball” (1962)

Grandpa Jetson is Way Cooler Than Grandpa Simpson

Montague Jetson is 110 years old--and loving it

Cartoon poster which hung outside Martin’s Lunch Room circa 1929

In the 1920s, Shoppers Got Punk’d By Fake Televisions

Don't touch that dial....really, don't

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The Episode Where George Jetson Rages Against the Machine

Never trust a robot co-worker

Ernest Hemingway’s 1923 passport photo

Future Classics: Readers of 1936 Predict Which Authors Will Endure

Find out which famous writers didn't make the top ten in this poll

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Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 09 – Elroy’s TV Show

Kids of the 1960s were let in on the secret of how television is made.

Nikola Tesla at age 40.

Nikola Tesla the Eugenicist: Eliminating Undesirables by 2100

The inventor may have been brilliant, but his warped views on the future of the population reveals that in the end, he was still just human

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Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 08 – Rosey’s Boyfriend

The personal humanoid robotic assistant easily makes the short list of retro-futuristic dreams still unfulfilled

Electronic government of the future from the 1981 kids book, World of Tomorrow by Neil Ardley

Five Past Visions of Our Political Future

Some people thought that once women were allowed to vote, men would soon lose that privilege

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Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 07 – The Flying Suit

Viewers got their first look at jetpacks as well as what actually happens on the ground beneath the Jetsons, and while it may not be zombies, it isn't pretty

Cover of the Jan 1950 issue of Redbook

Aldous Huxley’s Predictions for 2000 A.D.

The famous author envisioned a brave new world where swelling populations would put tremendous strain on the Earth's resources

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Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 06 – The Good Little Scouts

A camping trip to the moon might seem fanciful, but 1960s advertisers were already promoting space tourism

Screenshot of the robot WALL-E from the 2008 Disney/Pixar animated film

And the Winner Is: 2012 Inductees to the Robot Hall of Fame

Much to our chagrin, Rosey did not make it. But who did?

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Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 05 – Jetson’s Nite Out

George and Mr. Spacely sneak off to watch the big game, but are caught in the act by Jane on the family's super-sized television

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Sex and Space Travel: Predictions from the 1950s

The cure for lonely space missions? One astronomer proposed hiring astronaut concubines

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Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 04 – The Coming of Astro

Man's best friend has been fending off the the threat of a robot replacement for decades, not just on television

People in a space colony of the future

A New Great Depression and Ladies on the Moon: 1970s Middle School Kids Look to the Year 2000

The ideal future according to a ten-year-old: shorter school days, lower taxes, and lots and lots of robots

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Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 03 – The Space Car

The Jetsons didn't invent the flying car, but it sure did a lot to cement the idea of the airborne automobile into the American imagination

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