These eerie historical predictions actually came to pass. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most notable modern inventions and events that were predicted decades or even centuries beforehand.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most notable modern
00:13inventions and events that were predicted decades, or even centuries, beforehand.
00:19I never thought I would live to see my ideas verified.
00:23I was wrong.
00:26Number 20, assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy, Gene
00:31Dixon.
00:32Secret Service, right along with the President, of course.
00:35At that time, there were 200 Secret Service agents nationwide, and only about 34 that
00:42protected President Kennedy on a full-time basis.
00:45Psychics may not have the best reputation, but some have been so eerily correct that
00:49it's hard to write off the practice entirely.
00:52Gene Dixon had a long career, and even worked alongside the White House.
00:56Some of her most famous predictions are also her most morbid.
00:59She accurately guessed the deaths of prominent political figures, most notably President
01:03John F. Kennedy and activist Martin Luther King Jr.
01:07According to the prosecutors, the shot was fired from the bathroom and killed Dr. King
01:12over here on the second floor of the Lorraine.
01:16Dixon even identified violent circumstances surrounding their fates.
01:20Getting just one right would have been intriguing enough, but two certainly garnered widespread
01:24attention.
01:26Although Dixon later incorrectly prophesied that JFK wouldn't win the 1960 election,
01:30her prediction of his eventual demise became the defining moment of her entire career.
01:3519.
01:36Antidepressants, Aldous Huxley
01:39It doesn't affect my quality of life, because I know these pills give me a quality of life,
01:45or that they can restore it if severe symptoms start again.
01:48Treating mood disorders isn't new, but the way we do it now certainly is.
01:52Before the modernization of medicine, they were primarily treated with harder drugs like
01:56amphetamines and opioids.
01:58Eventually, those were replaced with serotonin-based pills, which became normalized as awareness
02:03of mental health grew.
02:04Aldous Huxley was able to identify this phenomenon decades before the research began.
02:09We tend to be pushed by the advancing technology in a certain direction, which I don't find
02:16desirable.
02:17And I do think we have to start thinking very intensively about this problem and seeing
02:22how we can get control again of our invention.
02:25In his dystopian novel Brave New World, he included a hallucinogenic substance known
02:29as Soma, used by the characters to alleviate negative emotions.
02:34While he described their usage dramatically, he was able to anticipate the way people would
02:38rely on them in the future, being able to foresee a large national health trend as a
02:43feat in itself.
02:44Perfect happiness of more things, for more wants in perfect balance, with more wants
02:50for more things.
02:5218.
02:53Mars' Two Moons – Jonathan Swift
02:55What goes on above us has always been a subject of debate, both in ancient and modern times.
03:01Whether someone is suggesting we live in a heliocentric world, or that a planet has multiple
03:06moons, numerous theories have emerged, some of which have come true.
03:10While Galileo was the first deposit that Mars had two moons orbiting it, the idea didn't
03:15become more widespread until the publication of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels.
03:19In the piece, Swift referenced Phobos and Deimos, and even came close to correctly identifying
03:25their orbital distances and periods.
03:27As their eventual discovery validated Swift's predictions, further speculation arose regarding
03:32how he could have known, including one theory claiming he found records aliens left behind.
03:4917.
03:51The Internet – E.M. Forster
03:59The future of technology has been a constant conversation for decades, with speculation
04:04about new inventions being a running theme in entertainment.
04:08Now we live in an era where we can see what predictions materialised and what didn't.
04:13One of the most prominent is something you're most likely using right now – the Internet.
04:18Back in 1909, in his short story, The Machine Stops, E.M. Forster envisioned a fictional,
04:24giant contraption that catered to people's every need, from food to social interaction.
04:39While we don't depend on one single machine today, many people do have their needs met
04:44online.
04:45Whether it's messaging a friend or buying a product, both can be done with just a few
04:49clicks – just the way Forster predicted.
04:5216.
04:53Various Inventions – Leonardo da Vinci
05:09It's hard to fathom that one man from centuries ago could be the foundation for so many of
05:14our modern gadgets.
05:15Leonardo da Vinci was a genius in the highest regard, whether it was in art or engineering.
05:20Throughout his life, he wrote and sketched out a plethora of ideas, many of which have
05:25been created.
05:26It was even discovered that over 100 of the prototypes for modern creations were credited
05:31to him.
05:32Leonardo's ideas were so far ahead of his time, you find yourself checking then double-checking
05:37the date he came up with them.
05:39His most famous are his flying machines, most notably his aerial screw, which is now
05:44known by its modern name, the helicopter.
05:47His ideas don't end at flight – he also came up with various musical instruments and
05:52hydraulic pumps, and he may have even created one of the earliest robots in history.
05:57These ideas have been an endless source of fascination for program makers, not least
06:02because many of them feel like they came straight out of the 19th century rather than the 15th.
06:10The Cold War – Alexei de Tocqueville
06:13No matter how closely allied two countries may seem, there's always the chance of conflict
06:18arising between the two.
06:19Throughout the 1800s, relations between the United States and Russia were completely different
06:24than they are today.
06:25They had a common enemy in Great Britain, and plenty of land to take over without stepping
06:30on each other's toes.
06:31Yet, Alexei de Tocqueville could tell that the allyship wouldn't last forever.
06:36In Democracy in America, he theorized that the two countries would become global superpowers,
06:41both vying for complete control.
06:43People learned just how accurate he was over a century later, when they were at complete
06:47odds with one another.
06:49While things have settled slightly, his assumption continues to be proven on a near-daily basis.
06:5514.
06:56Digital Photography – John Alfred Watkins Jr.
07:04At one point, getting pictures developed was a lengthy process.
07:08Now, thanks to modern technology like cell phones and instant cameras, the wait time
07:12is non-existent.
07:13John Alfred Watkins Jr. was the first to predict instantaneous photography, in a magazine article
07:19titled What May Happen in the Next Hundred Years?, from way back in 1900.
07:24He put forward his assumption that we would someday reach a point where we could see photos
07:29from across the world and in full detail in just an hour.
07:33He ended up being precise on both counts.
07:36Not only has the vibrancy and color become more notable in modern times, but the speed
07:41at which images are taken and shared worldwide is even more advanced than he ever speculated.
07:5713.
07:59Earbuds – Ray Bradbury Fiction writers have always seemed to have
08:07their thumbs on the pulse of culture, often introducing concepts in their works long before
08:12they materialize in reality.
08:14One of the most prominent examples is Ray Bradbury's envisioning of earbuds in his
08:19work Fahrenheit 451.
08:21He referred to them as seashells, and they were utilized by several characters who were
08:25attempting to distract themselves from everything, even their own thoughts.
08:41He ended up being spot on about their design and the way others would use them to block
08:46out the world around them.
08:47It's one thing to predict a creation, but guessing a mass social change like that is
08:51on another level entirely.
08:5912.
09:00World War II – Ferdinand Foch The Cold War isn't the only global conflict
09:05to have been forecasted.
09:07Following the end of the First World War, the Allied powers passed the Treaty of Versailles.
09:11The agreement forced Germany to make several changes, including deporting war criminals
09:17and disarming themselves.
09:18While it seemed like the perfect solution, not everyone agreed.
09:22Ferdinand Foch, a distinguished member of the French military, felt that it was just
09:26a band-aid covering up a larger wound.
09:28He was adamant that Germany would rise again if they weren't completely weakened, saying
09:33that the supposed peace would only last about twenty years.
09:36His methods seemed extreme at the time, but when World War II officially broke out just
09:41over two decades later, many realized how right he'd been.
09:4611.
09:47Tablets – Arthur C. Clarke Despite first being released in 2010, the
09:57concept for this tablet was conceptualized over forty years prior.
10:01The acclaimed film 2001 A Space Odyssey, co-written by science fiction novelist Arthur C. Clarke,
10:08featured a device called a newspad.
10:10Several small screens could be opened, pulling up a larger window that the user could read
10:15and then minimize.
10:17The comparisons between this and what we now know as the iPad were uncanny.
10:21They're so similar that Samsung even countered a claim that they had stolen the idea, by
10:26positing that Apple had taken the concept from Clarke himself.
10:30Clarke passed away in 2008, years before the tablet hit the market, so we'll unfortunately
10:35never know what he thought about his ideas being brought to life.
10:3810.
10:47The Atomic Bomb – H.G. Wells
11:02Literature is just full of wonderful predictions, especially when it comes to science fiction.
11:07While many sci-fi stories deal with potential apocalyptic destruction, one story had the
11:12method down to a tee.
11:14That would be The World Set Free, a novel written by H.G. Wells, which was released
11:19in 1913.
11:21In the story, Wells describes an atomic bomb, which made a thunderous noise in the sky and
11:26released radioactive vapour that stayed dangerous long after the bomb exploded, ensuring an
11:32even greater number of deaths.
11:33Of course, 32 years later, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities
11:39of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with scarily similar results.
11:469.
11:50John Elfreth Watkins, Jr.
12:03John Elfreth Watkins, Jr.'s aforementioned article not only predicted the advent of instant
12:08photography, it also had a list of many other prophecies.
12:12The list included everything from the height of the average American to ready-cooked meals,
12:16and his most impressive prediction, without a doubt, was the invention of the television.
12:21Watkins wrote, quote, Man will see around the world.
12:25Persons and things of all kinds will be brought within focus of cameras connected electrically
12:30with screens at opposite ends of circuits, thousands of miles at a span, end quote.
12:36Today, more than half of the homes in the United States have at least three television
12:41sets.
12:428.
12:43The periodic table of elements, Dmitri Mendeleev.
12:53In 1863, scientists had discovered 56 known elements.
12:58Several people at the time hoped to organize these elements by creating a table of periodic
13:02elements.
13:03But none did so quite like Dmitri Mendeleev.
13:05A Russian chemist, Mendeleev published his periodic table in 1869, but left gaps in it
13:12for future elements.
13:14He scooches it over and leaves a blank spot.
13:17And has the audacity, has the daring to suggest that there might one day exist an element
13:24that would fill that space.
13:25He then claimed that he had a dream where he saw a table with places for including ten
13:30then-unknown elements.
13:32By arranging the elements in a periodic way, he was able to predict characteristics of
13:37the elements that would fill in the missing gaps.
13:40Remarkably, seven of his ten predicted elements were eventually discovered and added to the
13:45table.
13:467.
13:47Debit Cards, Edward Bellamy.
13:49Sci-fi writer Edward Bellamy released a utopian novel entitled Looking Backward, 2000-1887,
13:56in the late 19th century.
13:58In it, one character explains to another that in the new world, everyone will, quote, have
14:04a credit card, issued him, with which he procures at the public storehouses whatever
14:09he desires, end quote.
14:11Bellamy was spot on, although his credit cards functioned more like current debit cards.
14:16But it was still an incredible prediction, considering that today, just about every person
14:20with a bank account has a debit card.
14:236.
14:24Organ Transplants, Robert Boyle.
14:27Operating within the human heart is complicated, difficult, and dangerous.
14:32Though very recently, it was thought to be impossible.
14:35Considered today to be the first modern chemist, and one of the founders of modern chemistry,
14:39Robert Boyle is perhaps best known for Boyle's Law, an experimental gas law concerning the
14:44pressure and volume of gas.
14:46He's also known, however, for predicting that organ transplants would someday be real.
14:51Writing in the mid-17th century, Boyle described, quote, the cure of diseases at a distance,
14:57or at least by transplantation, end quote.
15:00In 1954, the first successful organ transplant was completed at Brigham Hospital in Boston,
15:06which means that Boyle amazingly predicted the first organ transplant 300 years early.
15:115.
15:12Mark Twain's own death, Mark Twain.
15:15One of the greatest writers in the history of English literature, Mark Twain wrote The
15:19Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, considered by many to be the great American novel.
15:23I suppose you're wondering why we disembarked.
15:25Well, you did leave sort of quick-like.
15:27Son, as you go through life, you'll find that some men have a sense of humor.
15:32Others have none.
15:34He was born on November 30th, 1835, just after a visit by Halley's Comet.
15:40Some time later, Twain wrote, quote, I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835.
15:45It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it.
15:49They came in together.
15:50They must go out together, end of quote.
15:53Remarkably, on April 21st, 1910, the day after the comet returned, Twain died of a heart
15:59attack in Redding, Connecticut.
16:00They'll try and kill him.
16:01They tried to kill him once before.
16:02Please, you gotta let me go.
16:054.
16:06Wi-Fi and wireless devices, Nikola Tesla.
16:10His inventions helped America grow into a powerful industrial nation.
16:15His ideas created billion-dollar corporations.
16:19One of the most enigmatic men in history, Nikola Tesla is best known for his role in
16:23the War of the Currents with Thomas Edison, and his contributions to the AC electricity
16:28supply system.
16:29Tesla also had several strong ideas about the future, and how the world would change
16:33in the coming years.
16:39In 1909, he told the New York Times that, quote, it will soon be possible to transmit
16:44wireless messages all over the world so simply that any individual can own and operate his
16:50own apparatus.
16:52End quote.
16:53Several decades later, the first wireless devices were created, and in 2007, the first
16:58iPhone was released, proving Tesla right.
17:013.
17:02Great Fire of London, Nostradamus.
17:04The name Nostradamus is synonymous with predictions.
17:07A reputed seer, he's best known for his book, Le Prophecie, containing a number of
17:11prophecies concerning future events.
17:14One of these predictions went as follows, quote, the blood of the just will be lacking
17:18in London, burnt up in the fire of 66.
17:22The ancient lady will topple from her high place, many of the same sect will be killed.
17:27End quote.
17:28Of course, London was engulfed by fire from September 2nd to September 5th, 1666.
17:34It decimated the city, destroying more than 13,000 homes, as well as landmarks like St.
17:40Paul's Cathedral.
17:41More and more, Nostradamus is becoming aware of his power to predict the future.
17:462.
17:47The Titanic Disaster, Morgan Robertson.
17:50Get back, I say, or I'll shoot you all like dogs.
17:55Keep order here.
17:57In 1898, Morgan Robertson wrote a novella called The Wreck of the Titan, or Futility.
18:03The plot revolved around the Titan, a British luxury liner that hit an iceberg and sank
18:08while crossing the northern Atlantic.
18:10The ship was considered unsinkable, but hit an iceberg some 400 miles off the coast of
18:14Newfoundland in the month of April.
18:16After several hours of inner struggle, Fisher knew he had no choice.
18:21He must go ahead with this book.
18:24Of course, in 1912, the Titanic sank in similar fashion, hitting an iceberg some 400 miles
18:30off the coast of Newfoundland in April.
18:32Strangely, both ships were between 800 and 900 feet long, and in both accidents, the
18:38lack of life jackets and lifeboats resulted in a significant loss of life among passengers
18:44and crew.
18:45And like the Titanic, great numbers would die of exposure in the icy waters of the Atlantic
18:50Ocean.
18:51Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
18:55about our latest videos.
18:56You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
19:00If you're on your phone, make sure you go into settings and switch on your notifications.
19:051.
19:08THE MOON LANDING – JULES VERNE
19:20In 1865, legendary sci-fi author Jules Verne wrote a short story entitled From the Earth
19:26to the Moon.
19:27Verne did more than just predict that we would eventually go to the moon, however.
19:31He included some rough calculations that were remarkably similar to the real figures.
19:36The alarm starting to just report it back, it's been a real smooth countdown.
19:39We passed the 52nd mark.
19:41Power transfer is complete.
19:43He placed the rocket launch in Florida, the same site as the Apollo 11 launch.
19:48And he also predicted the feeling of weightlessness the astronauts would experience, despite not
19:53knowing there would be no gravity in space.
19:56To top it off, the story was released a century before the actual launch.
20:00Oh, it's beautiful, Mike.
20:01It really is.
20:02They've got the flag up now, and you can see the stars and stripes on the limousine.
20:06Which modern-day products do you think has the coolest origin story?
20:09Let us know in the comments below.
20:12Check out these other clips from WatchMojo, and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell
20:15to be notified about our latest videos.