- Go Go Gadget Hair!
Yeah, it didn't work, can I bring it back?
You know, one of the best parts about scifi movies
are the gadgets within them.
But what if I told you that some of the futuristic gadgets
that exist in some of your favorite movies
actually exist today?
Here are 10 scifi gadgets that science fiction
accurately predicted.
Number 10 are driverless cars.
Oh man, so like, I don't have to do anything?
This is sweet!
In the early 2000s, science fiction films, such as I, Robot
and Minority Report, contained characters who appeared
completely unfazed by the fact that their vehicles
didn't have anyone behind the wheel.
Now, back when these movies premiered, if someone saw a car
driving itself in the real world, they'd likely freak out.
But today, seeing such vehicles is almost commonplace,
or, at the very least, unsurprising.
More and more autonomous cars, also known as driverless
or self-driving cars, have been appearing on the streets.
Although they still required a qualified, licensed driver
behind the wheel, with the innovations coming out of
companies like Tesla Motors, drivers need to do very little
to get themselves from point A to be point B.
In just a few years, your Uber ride could be something
straight out of Total Recall.
Just with less Schwarzenegger.
Yah, where do you want to go?
Five stars no matter what!
Number nine are flip phones.
Made popular by the original Star Trek series,
the flip communicator made its debut in the series
pilot episode on September 8th, 1966.
At the time, such a device seemed so much more advanced
than the corded telephones that people were used to using,
and the fictional communicator and its legendary ringtone
became a fan favorite.
In fact, it was so beloved, that when Motorola released
the first ever clamshell-style flip mobile phone,
they named it StarTAC in its honor.
With the advancements in telecommunications and
the popularity of the smartphone, modern cell phone users
would probably look at a flip phone as ancient technology.
But keep in mind, it wasn't that long ago that this device
was considered a futuristic gadget, only available
in the world of science fiction.
But if that all seems obvious today, keep in mind
that this was the same world that had aliens
with genitals on their knees.
It was a Star Trek episode.
Number eight is the watch communicator.
Hey Siri, you lookin' fine today!
- [Siri] Okay.
- Okay, that's all you got?
Man, you are rude.
When Chester Gould's comic strip, Dick Tracy, first appeared
in the Detroit Mirror newspaper on October 4th, 1931,
it introduced the world to a tough-as-nails
police detective.
Except this detective had gadgetry more advanced
than anything the real world could offer.
One of the gadgets debuting in the January 13th, 1946 strip
was a wristwatch communicator, a device that every single
kid wanted, and one that today is totally available.
The very first watch phone was released by Samsung
back in 1999, but it was bulky and it had an antenna
sticking out of it.
Today, watches can do a lot more than just communicate
with the development of the smartwatch, which can launch
apps, take pictures, and, of course, make phone calls
to non-watch receivers.
It's actually become common to see people
talking to their wrists.
Hey Siri, you just beautiful.
- [Siri] If you say so.
- Oh, you sassy.
Number seven is the atomic bomb.
In May of 1941, in the midst of World War II,
Astounding Science-Fiction magazine released a story
by writer Robert A. Heinlein.
The story initially follows the United States while it
hurries to complete a catastrophic bomb,
one which will end the great war, before moving on
to the consequences of using it, which include
the rest of the world racing to develop their own versions
of the weapon in an arms race.
Well, alarmingly, on August 6th, 1945, just a little over
four years later, the United States Air Force dropped
Little Boy, a 4400-kilogram nuclear bomb with a blast yield
of 15 kilotons, on Hiroshima, Japan.
The explosion killed over 70,000 people nearly instantly
and was a key factor in forcing the Japanese to surrender
just nine days later.
Number six is instant messaging.
Just one second, I'm texting bae a poop emoji.
Published in 1909, The Machine Stops, a short story
by E.M. Forster, introduced millions to the idea
that messages could be sent long distances instantly.
Now, most of you likely don't remember a time when
the only way to get ahold of a friend of loved one from
far away was to call them on something called a landline,
or even send them a letter in the mail,
but such a time did once exist.
And this period of time had people praying for the ability
to just press a few keys and correspond like characters did
in books and movies.
Well, that's not on many people's minds today,
with email, texting, and the various messenger apps
on all of our smartphones.
Instant messaging was happening in the late 1960s,
before the internet existed, but it was basically just
between two physically-networked computers.
When you consider the leap from that to what we now have,
it definitely seems like something
straight out of science fiction.
Now I'm using the poop animoji.
So clever.
Number five is video chat.
Though we've had video chat applications, such as Skype,
Facebook, FaceTime, and Google Hangouts, for whoever
uses that, for a number of years now, there was once
a time before then that the ability to see the person
that you were speaking with in real-time video
was just a fantasy gadget in science fiction.
After all, what would all those popular science fiction
exploration shows be without a video chat
between the admiral and enemy commander?
Okay, either he's about to watch torpedoes at us
or he's about to poop.
In the real world, the first time we witnessed a video
conference call was when AT&T, the communication giant,
presented their new technology, the picture phone,
at the 1964 New York world's fair.
The public stepped into the future, making calls
to a team in Disneyland in California.
But as of today, many people wouldn't even understand
a world without being able to see their friends
and family from around the world live.
Number four are replicators.
Wouldn't it be great to live in an episode of Star Trek
and have access to those incredible replicators?
I'd be making Chik-Fil-A sandwiches all day.
Think about it.
Imagine having anything that you want
appear out of thin air.
Well, our technology is nowhere near as sophisticated,
but with the amazing advancements in 3D printing,
that part or tool that you need to complete something
could literally just be a few clicks away.
Since the early 1980s, companies have been fabricating
plastic objects using a layering method and a thermoset
polymer, much like the way current 3D printers function.
With the ever-growing number of designs and blueprints
that are available online, we can make almost anything,
including parts of complex machines, toys, vehicles,
weapons, and, in the near future, replacement body parts.
Oh, man, I can't wait to 3D print me a bigger...
Pair of pants.
'Cause these ones are small.
Number three are holograms.
In Robert Zemeckis's 1989 blockbuster, Back to the Future
Part II, we're introduced to a different form of advertising
than we're used to.
As Marty McFly looks around at a futuristic world,
a holographic shark rises up from behind a sign,
promoting the fake film, Jaws 19, and attacks,
passing right through him.
Now, of course, this was a work of fiction.
But today, such an ad isn't that far beyond
our ever-evolving technology.
Using projectors and a motion camera to relay
where the viewer is in real time, French artist
Joanne Lucier is just one of the many individuals
that are experimenting with 3D images being presented
without the need for any glasses or goggles.
Now, currently, it can only be displayed properly
for one tracked person at a time, but we are unbelievably
close to an intangible jaws coming right at yo face
for a snack!
But just remember, fish are friends, not food.
Humans, on the other hand.
Mm, tasty.
Number two is virtual reality.
Virtual reality first appeared in science fiction
back in the early 1950s.
It was arguably Ray Bradbury's story The Veldt,
which was released in 1951, that first opened the door
to interacting with a virtual world.
Since then, multiple books, television shows and films
have used VR as a theme, one of the most famous
being the Matrix trilogy, which showed what it would be like
if existence itself was a simulation.
Today, systems like the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift,
and PlayStation, among others, have given us the ability
to temporarily leave this life behind.
Mentally, anyway.
And in case you were wondering, oh yes,
VR is revolutionizing every industry,
you know what I'm saying?
Home buying, home buying is what I was talking about.
Buying a home.
What do you think?
And number one is robots that look human.
John Connor, come with me if you want to live.
If you're seen Terminator or I, Robot, you may feel that
the world would be better without these scifi appliances.
But they are here, and soon,
they could be thinking for themselves.
In Karel Capek's 1921 play RUR, the word robot is first
used, taken from the Czech word robota,
which means servitude.
Their very first film appearance occurred in 1927,
when Bridget Helm played on in director
Fritz Lang's Metropolis.
And since then, they've been incredibly popular.
But not just in the media.
Real life robots are here, and though they're not quite
as scary as the T-1000, the fact that they're being upgraded
every day to seem more and more human is a bit unsettling.
In fact, in 2016, Osaka University in Japan unveiled Erica,
a receptionist robot who is so realistic, some people
have failed to notice she isn't alive.
Man, that's crazy!
Soon you're gonna have Youtuber robots.
Aw, jeez.
Error.
Anyway!
So, that was 10 scifi gadgets that science fiction
accurately predicted, and if you guys enjoyed this,
remember to give it a big thumbs up.
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Thank you guys for watching, and I will see you next time.
Goodbye.