BTTF 2 future predictions

[Dave]

Back to the Future Part II was a predictor of many events yet to come.

Firstly, it predicted that Miami would have a major league baseball team, that will win the World Series in 2015. Back in 1989 when the show was in production, Florida didn't even have a baseball team. However, in BTTF Pt. II they were called the Miami 'Gators', whereas they are in reality, the Miami 'Marlins'. But they have already won the World Series in 1997.

The film also predicted at least two other interesting future events that were yet to come: the downfall of laserdiscs and the procedure of using thumbprints as signatures.

In an early scene, Doc & Marty carry the sedated Jennifer out of the DeLorean and lay her in an alley behind Fusion Industries. They place her down on bundled stacks of waste that are clearly mounds of laserdiscs ready to be incinerated. Many people, including 'Entertainment Weekly', have pointed out that this scene clearly predicts that laserdiscs won't be a source of entertainment media in the future, apparently paving the way for the new format of the future - DVD.

Practically all in-person financial transactions were handled in the future by scanning the thumbprint of the consumer. In the southern USA several major banks have instigated check cashing policies for customers without accounts at those particular banks requiring 'thumbprint signatures' by these customers.

So, how long before the flying skateboards and flying cars?

[Tabitha]

Flying skateboards and flying cars - not in our lifetimes. I reckon. There will need to be some pretty impressive technological breakthroughs before that could be cost efficient.

The joke about Jaws 10, or whatever sequel it was, is very apt - I mean we have already had Jason X, and I think Halloween Resurrection is about the 8th in the series - totally ridiculous, but evidently true!

[Dave]

But the Jaws XIV hologram was rubbish, you can make much better holograms than that already in 2005!

[Dave]

How would you rate the chances of developing Mr Fusion?

"Technological savvy could turn 600 million tons of turkey guts and other waste into 4 billion barrels of light Texas crude each year" says the article here: http://www.mindfully.org/Energy/2003...-Oil1may03.htm

Unlike other solid-to-liquid-fuel processes such as cornstarch into ethanol, this one will accept almost any carbon-based feedstock. If a 175-pound man fell into one end , he would come out the other end as 38 pounds of oil, 7 pounds of gas, and 7 pounds of minerals, as well as 123 pounds of sterilized water. While no one plans to put people into a thermal depolymerization machine, an intimate human creation could become a prime feedstock. "There is no reason why we can't turn sewage, including human excrement, into a glorious oil," says engineer Terry Adams, a project consultant.

[Dave]

The cyber-café with the 1980's theme - Max Headroom versions of Ronald Reagan and the Ayatollah, and video games which require hands-on controls.

We already have '70's and '80's themed bars and there is a massive number of retro-games on the market today - Space Invaders, Caterpillar, Lunar Lander, Pong - I think this is the best of all the predictions made.

[Dave]

What was the biggest mistakes?

I would vote for the fax machines in the 2015 office. Even today, who uses fax machines anymore?

[PTeppic]

Our offices do: 10,000 person site. Fax is used for inter-site (but not much, mostly to onsite suppliers) but a lot to off-site suppliers, and occasionally places like banks, hotels.

[Dave]

I'm guessing that you don't have three Fax machines at home though? The future McFly family did.

Or, that your Boss would Fire you by Fax? He might Text you, or Email you though!

[Majimaune]

With the flying car, we have the technology to make it. People have just to say Ha! We can build a flying car but wont! Just to annoy you people. No the truth is the amount to money it takes to build one is amazing and so wont happen.

[F'Lessan Amused]

itll be done..people said we'd never break 30mph let alone 100...the even said the veyron and 1000bhp would never exist in the 21st let alone 22nd century as little as 10 years ago...

i forsee a "flying" car in the next 20 years...hey it might even be by 2015, hehe

[Majimaune]

F'Lessan have you by chance read Cyberpunk 2020? It was written almost 20 years ago and is set in 2020. It is crazy the stuff in there that they have. It is a mixture from what we have now and BTTF stuff.

I stand adamant though, flying cars will cost to much and are not economic. Hovercars are different though.

[F'Lessan Amused]

no i havent...will have to look into it

what i find funnt is the tv show "tomorrow's world"....i cant believe how much they got the 2000's wrong

[Majimaune]

Yeah I know, that stuff is amazing and all that but its set 400 years in the past (sorry for the Futurama reference) Love Jules Verne's stuff with the future.

[F'Lessan Amused]

no you're mistaken...tomorrow's world is an 80's/90's bbc programme showing the "gadgets" of the future...90% of which never saw the light of day

[Vincent Tauscher]

How about that television set that could watch 6 channels at the same time? TVs 5 years ago could already do 2 channels at the same time (although, I haven't seen many models with that option anymore).