FOURTEEN MORE FAILED PREDICTIONS BY SCIENTISTS

Balladeer’s Blog’s previous lists of failed predictions from psychics, religious figures and even scientists have been big hits. Here’s another list looking at such failed predictions, made in 1975.

JAMES BONNER

*** By 1980 doctors will be able to grow new hearts and livers for human beings and after 2 or 3 years insert them into the patient’s anatomy to replace the failing organs. 

*** In “the near future” cloning might be used to develop a superspecies of human beings.

D.G. BRENNAN

*** By 2018 hurricanes will be controllable and used as weapons in warfare.

*** Also by 2018 soldiers will be lifted by back-carried antigravity belts.

ARTHUR C CLARKE

*** By the year 2000 cars without wheels will float on air and road signs will likely say “No wheeled vehicles on this highway.”

*** Also by the year 2000 air-conditioned, domed and/or underground settlements on the moon will be growing food and mining building materials from the moon itself.

*** Telepathy will enable the viewing of the past and the future. 

*** Three percent of the world’s oil could be used to feed the global population by extracting proteins from that oil. (To be fair he did not mention an exact target date for these last two.)

PAUL EHRLICH

*** In 1979 new diatom forms will appear in the sea and kill off sea life. Within a year the sea may be dead. Japan and China will then face mass starvation.

*** The two countries will blame Russia for the disaster and, after futilely demanding food from the Russians, will invade their nation.

E.S.E. HAFEZ

*** By 1990 women will be able to walk into a kind of “store” where frozen human embryos are sold in packets according to specific physical, mental and emotional attributes. They will be able to select an embryo and have it inserted so that she gives birth in roughly nine months.

OLAF HELMER

*** By the year 2000 a permanent colony will exist on the moon.

*** Also by the year 2000 a manned landing on Mars will have taken place.

LLOYD V STOVER

*** By 1995 complete underwater resorts will have been built.