Whatever happened to the flying cars and moon bases promised by magazines such as Modern Mechanix? Wired revisits the world of tomorrow.

By now we should have populated other planets, discovered clean and plentiful energy sources, and be enjoying safe, fast, personal jetcraft. From before the second world war until the height of the cold war, popular science publications were full of compellingly illustrated predictions of humanity's imminent, astounding breakthroughs and innovations.

So what can we learn about our own expectations from the predictions of futurists past? In 1928 New York-based magazine company Fawcett Publications launched Modern Mechanics, which depicted concept technologies, often automotive. It became Modern Mechanix, before relaunching as Mechanix Illustrated in 1938 with Frank Tinsley's celebrated drawings, which blurred utopia and dystopia. Some have come to fruition with impressive accuracy; others, less so. Wired jumps on the rocket train and takes a ride back to the future.


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