PEORIA MAGAZINE April 2022

O N E M O R E T H I N G

WHERE’S MY FLYING CAR? Past prognosticators have a checkered history

BY PHIL LUCIANO

I imagine that the hose-happy scenario was especially welcomed in light of another ‘50s oracle. Alex Lewyt, president of a self-named vacuum cleaner company, promised the world, “Nuclear-powered vacuum cleaners probably will be a reality in 10 years.” Let’s set aside the safety worries of putting a nuclear device in every household. And let’s try, hard as it may seem, to ignore the potential effects on dogs. I mean, dogs totally freak out at the sound of a regular vacuum, so I can’t imagine what a nuclear vacuum would do to them. Rather, my mind rockets to this question: How disgusting were 1950s homes that engineers feverishly sought to harness nuclear energy in the fight against filth? Whenever I’d see a show like “Leave It to Beaver,” June Cleaver seemed to be keeping a tidy household. Apparently, however, the remainder of Americans were pigs. Who knew? Even so, the health outlook seemed good for the future, according to F.E.

Smith. In 1922, the high-powered British politician and speaker said that by 2030, medical advances (including special injections) would help people routinely live to be 150 years old. He marveled, “How will youths of 20 be able to compete in the professions or business against vigorous men still in their prime at 120, with a century of experience on which to draw?” Forgive me, but that prediction didn’t make me wonder about any pending employment plight of 20-somethings. Rather, my immediate reaction was, “I’d have towork how long?” Most workdays, I have a hard time staying motivated (or even awake) for the next 60 minutes, let alone another 60 years. And though many such predictions overestimate potential advancements, others give short shrift to human ingenuity. For instance, in 1977, pioneer ing computer eng ineer Ken Olson warned of a possible technological overreach in everyday life, saying, “There is no reason for

any individual to have a computer in his home.” Hoo-hoo! No computer at home? What a goof. Then again, think about that quote the next time you get home fromwork and spend a few minutes of precious free time amid the blowhards, haters and ranters on social media. Pretty soon, you’ll probably think, “No computer at home? Maybe that Olson guy knew what he was talking about.” (This column includes information from amusingplanet.com, nbcbayarea.com, weforum.org, rd.com and cnbc.com)

Phil Luciano is a senior writer at Peoria Magazine and contributor to WTVP.

APRIL 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE 93