If you’re going to ask someone to predict the future, “the most trusted man in America” is a solid candidate. And that’s what Popular Science did in April 1967, inviting stalwart broadcaster and veteran journalist Walter Cronkite to speculate about what the 21st century would bring.
The late-1906s were probably the best and the worst time to speculate on the future. We were engulfed in the terrifying and amazing potential of the atom. We’d largely conquered polio and measles, the birth control pill changed a lot of things, we isolated human genes, we invented lasers, and TV started to get really good.
Cronkite’s vision for the 21st century included magnets embedded in our roadways, widespread use of hovercrafts, and “nuisance chores” being taken care of by home robots. So what did he get right? The latest video from Popular Science breaks it down. And that’s the way it is.
Want more original videos about the perplexing past, complicated present, and intriguing future? Subscribe to Popular Science on YouTube.
