12 Old Magazines That Predicted a Very Different Future
This article shows 12 old magazines that made predictions about the future that did not happen.
- Daisy Montero
- 4 min read
These 12 magazines made bold guesses about what the future would look like. They imagined things like flying cars, underwater cities, and robot teachers. Some ideas came true in different ways, while others stayed as fun dreams. These things give us a look at how people in the past thought the future would be.
1. Amazing Stories – Moon Living
greyloch from Washington, DC, area, U.S.A. on Wikimedia Commons
This 1930s magazine showed families living on the Moon in glass domes. People are sitting under big windows with plants growing inside. It was a fun idea, but people still have not built homes like this on the Moon.
2. Air Wonder Stories – Hover Cars
Wikideas1 on Wikimedia Commons
In the 1920s, this cover showed cars flying above the roads like small planes. It made people dream of floating through the air instead of sitting in traffic. Even today, flying cars have not become part of daily life.
3. Galaxy – Videophones at Home
Gustavo Fring on Pexels
This 1955 cover imagined people making video calls using large box-like screens at home. Back then, it seemed like science fiction. Today, we use phones and computers to do video calls easily, but they look very different from what this magazine showed.
4. Future Science Fiction – Jetpacks
Юрина Татьяна on Wikimedia Commons
Jetpacks were shown as the coolest way to travel in this old magazine. A person flies through the sky wearing a small rocket on their back. While some jetpacks exist for shows and special events, they never became something regular people use.
5. Life Magazine 1914 – 1950 Fashion
William Haskell Coffin on Pexels
In 1914, this magazine guessed how women might dress in 1950. The dresses had lights and shiny parts that looked like something out of a space movie. Fashion never really followed these wild designs, but they still look fun and creative.
6. Science & Invention – Robot Teacher
Yamit29 on Wikimedia Commons
This cover showed a robot in a classroom, punishing students by tapping their heads with a stick. People thought machines might replace teachers one day. Instead, schools still have human teachers, and robots help in friendlier ways.
7. NASA Concept Art – Space Colony
NASA on Wikimedia Commons
In the 1970s, artists drew pictures of giant space stations where people could live, work, and play. These floating cities looked like huge glass tubes filled with trees and houses. Scientists are still trying to find ways to build something like this far into the future.
8. Sci‑Fi Pulp – Underwater Cities
Norman Saunders (1907-1989) Restoration by Adam Cuerden on Wikimedia Commons
This magazine dreamed of people living in big bubble cities under the ocean. It showed tall buildings inside clear domes, safe from the water outside. While small underwater rooms exist for research, full cities like this have never been built.
9. Steampunk‑Style “Ship’s Cat”
Sylliefaces on Wikimedia Commons
This cover mixed old-fashioned styles with futuristic machines. It showed a cat-like robot that might work on a spaceship. Designs like this helped inspire today’s steampunk art, where old and new styles come together.
10. Express Ocean Liner 2000
Dietmar Rabich on Wikimedia Commons
A 1931 cover imagined super-fast ships that could cross oceans very quickly by the year 2000. They looked sleek and modern, cutting through waves like rockets. Instead, airplanes became the fastest way to travel across the world.
11. Monsanto House of the Future
Monsanto on Wikimedia Commons
In 1957, Disneyland showed this special house made of plastic. Everything inside worked with buttons and moving parts. It was real for a short time, but homes today look much simpler than this wild idea.
12. Nuke‑Proof Underground City
Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China on Wikimedia Commons
This 1969 idea showed people living under New York City to stay safe from nuclear attacks. The underground city had homes, stores, and parks. Thankfully, no one needed to build this, and people still live above ground.