Technology of Tomorrow! circa 1950

AiR said:
The people from the 50's imagined flying cars and vacations on the moon and today we have USB-powered mittens and online porn. :lol:
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...what if....... no, no, it's impossible.... but...... just- just what if you combined the two?
 
LUBE MITTENS
 
Its amazing the ideas that we had for the future. Have you seen The Tomorrow Mural? Its a site where you can post your visions for the future and see what everyone else's ideas are. I wonder how many will be sat on your forum in 10 years time?
 
Something that occurred to me: when will we, as a global society, stop naval gazing and being preoccupied with ourselves and start dreaming again like it was 50, 100, 150 years ago? When did it stop being "us" and become "me"? Take another look on the previous page; aren't those images just magnificent? Images of an optimistic, bright future with a respectful nod to the past.

We are so obsessed about not taking a chance; any construction project now has to include studies on environmental impact, percentage of minority contractors, health and safety, or any chance that, God forbid, it might offend even one person or group. When did we stop exploring, taking risks for the betterment of all, and just be content to slide through life on a beige slide of warm water?
 
jayhawk said:
Something that occurred to me: when will we, as a global society, stop naval gazing and being preoccupied with ourselves and start dreaming again like it was 50, 100, 150 years ago? When did it stop being "us" and become "me"? Take another look on the previous page; aren't those images just magnificent? Images of an optimistic, bright future with a respectful nod to the past.

We are so obsessed about not taking a chance; any construction project now has to include studies on environmental impact, percentage of minority contractors, health and safety, or any chance that, God forbid, it might offend even one person or group. When did we stop exploring, taking risks for the betterment of all, and just be content to slide through life on a beige slide of warm water?
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Ok, while I agree with what you are saying how everyone is thinking too much to do any actual exploring and the like but I also blame it on school.

Yes school, mainly universities, as my question is how many of those people who thought of those crazy and optimistic designs actually went through 4+ years of university? Seriously, school like that beats the life out of you, I bloody hate it, and is one of the reasons I want to drop out and go to a trades school to become an electrician.

Whenever we had to solve random problems in school (for example building something that isn't a truss bridge in shop class) I would be the one with the zany idea everyone else would think was stupid or impossible, yet low and behold at the end of the project mine was one of the strongest, and most unique. Yet I can't design stuff like that for a job, as first it would require WAY too much school, and I would be thinking of stuff outside of the "normal" teachings.

Unless I am completely mistaken these people doing the funky stuff back in the 50s were guys who were self taught, or taught through somebody in the business, and not through a giant corporation posing as a learning centre. I was tempted to try and go into aviation and would love to try and design an aircraft, but instead of using math I would rather use my mind, windtunnels and models (small scale stuff) but that isn't how anything works anymore.

Sorry about the rant, I know I could make/design some creative things, but I don't have the willpower to sit through 4-5 more years of math and theoretical bullshit just to get there.
 
I agree ^ I got frustrated at uni coz with any design work I wen mental. I love drawing and coming up with ideas. But yeah they got mostly dismissed without even been given chance so we ended up with stuff tha works and works well but is ultimately, in my mind, run of the mill.

There's no reason why u can't have both functional engineering and cracking design.

My final year project when from something elegant to a series of rectangle n tubes because that was easier and cheaper to Make than somethig that actually looked good.

I should of done industril design, there they don't take engineering into account and come upnwith alsorts of
cool shit. People then dismiss their designs with it'll never work. But I bet if u tried u could
make any of them work
 
^i think i would be the opposite...why invent a circle if there is already a square which does the job just fine? :)

and good looks don't do anything to functionallity. above all it should work bloody well! i realy don't care what it looks like...
 
I think those designs are great, even if the designer was a bit obsessed with chrome. Obviously a large majority are either completely impractical (like that long fire truck) or unnecessary (like the air-con music).

I love the OmNomNom digger though, the whole up and over design is fantastic and I can easily see that translated to a current digger design, and it would save a lot of time turning the thing around.

Anyway, I personally enjoy dreaming up stuff like this. Just this morning while staring out of the train window I thought up a jet train that would fit in with those nicely. Basically a jet engine with the cab behind it, a splitter to channel the air either side of the cab and a periscope-style windscreen above the engine leading to the driver. Completely mad idea but it would look good and go like stink.
 
matt2000 said:
Anyway, I personally enjoy dreaming up stuff like this. Just this morning while staring out of the train window I thought up a jet train that would fit in with those nicely. Basically a jet engine with the cab behind it, a splitter to channel the air either side of the cab and a periscope-style windscreen above the engine leading to the driver. Completely mad idea but it would look good and go like stink.
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i've been thinking up trains as well...

you used to have steam locomotives
StoLoc_NS3737_L.JPG


now try to imagine that train, but instead of steam, that's a single cylinder engine, with a travel of over 3m, propelling the train. the train would move like a cangooroo i think :lol:
 
jayhawk said:
When did we stop exploring
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probably right about the time that we finished :dunno:

Now other than space the only exploring left to be done is discovering new species of ants in jungles and crawling through caves.
 
Good to know if I keep my house clean, it will still be standing after a nuke. Sure, I'm roasted and blasted into next week, but I got a good house.

Fucking idiots.
 
bone said:
i've been thinking up trains as well...
now try to imagine that train, but instead of steam, that's a single cylinder engine, with a travel of over 3m, propelling the train. the train would move like a cangooroo i think :lol:
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It would be like firing a cannon backwards every time it fired, I expect the whole front end would leap into the air.

I'd buy one. :D
 
All the drawings reminds me of this clip. People of the 50's are so fixated on having flying everything in the future.
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hGjl3zcJMk[/YOUTUBE]
 
matt2000 said:
or unnecessary (like the air-con music).
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I quite like that idea, that way you could have a stereo in the living room and listen to music via it in every room in the house.

A bit like a 1950s way of linking your bedroom PC's music collection to the living room PC, but already installed when you move in. I bet they'd have a socket to plug your record turntable into sp you can listen to your favourite tracks!:lol:
 
Because now everything has to be profitable 1000%. A lot of restrictions (like You mentioned) and it is more difficult, cause of the technology advancement. Take cars, in the 50 everyone could make their own car, take a frame, make a body, stick a 10L V8 and go and if Your smart, You can start a business and make it mass production. Try to do that now with complicated inventions or innovations.

jayhawk said:
Something that occurred to me: when will we, as a global society, stop naval gazing and being preoccupied with ourselves and start dreaming again like it was 50, 100, 150 years ago? When did it stop being "us" and become "me"? Take another look on the previous page; aren't those images just magnificent? Images of an optimistic, bright future with a respectful nod to the past.

We are so obsessed about not taking a chance; any construction project now has to include studies on environmental impact, percentage of minority contractors, health and safety, or any chance that, God forbid, it might offend even one person or group. When did we stop exploring, taking risks for the betterment of all, and just be content to slide through life on a beige slide of warm water?
Click to expand...
 
Atlas Shrugged anyone?
 
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