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16 Of The Worst Predictions Ever Made By The New York Times

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Predictions are a difficult business. No matter how good your reputation and how smart you are, nobody can see the future with 100% clarity. Hindsight, however, is always 20/20.

Whatever our political inclinations and values, most of us can probably agree that The New York Times is a quality publication with capable journalists. However, even The Gray Lady has made countless blunders since being founded in 1851.

And today, we’re going to be merciless and look over some of the most misguided, terrible, and plain stupid forecasts that went straight down the drain, as collected by Sam Greenspan. From bagels to Picasso to Apple to computers to air and space travel, this all sounds like utter madness when reading it from the comfort of the future.

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#1

On Laptop Computers, 1985

On Laptop Computers, 1985 "On the whole, people don’t want to lug a computer with them to the beach or on a train to while away hours they would rather spend reading the sports or business section of the newspaper… the real future of the laptop computer will remain in the specialized niche markets. Because no matter how inexpensive the machines become, and no matter how sophisticated their software, I still can’t imagine the average user taking one along when going fishing"

nytimes , Johann H. Addicks Report

Final score:

67points

Francis 4 years ago

i think without the internet, this would have became reality tbh

60points

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#2

On Television, 1939

On Television, 1939 "The problem with television is that the people must sit and keep their eyes glued on a screen; the average American family hasn’t time for it."

Final score:

63points

Nagawa (Cofa) Kishiki 4 years ago

They were right. Who have time nowadays to sit down and watch TV. We multi-task by watching Netflix and using the toilet.

43points

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#3

The iPhone In 2006

The iPhone In 2006 "Everyone’s always asking me when Apple will come out with a cell phone. My answer is, ‘Probably never.’"

nytimes , apple Report

Final score:

58points

Pauline Bennett 4 years ago

Never has arrived has it not?

13points

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We, humans, all share an immeasurable love for being ahead of the future. Skeptics do it secretly, like scanning through the daily horoscope every 24 hours, rational people tend to be more into calculated economic forecasts, and others just plain love predictions. Sometimes it takes much less than statistical confidence, and we all fall into believing obscure statements.

Partly, it has to do with our inner urge to have control over our future. From weather forecasts to the post-Covid 19 future, it gives us a false sense of certainty. Nothing is more intimidating than a sudden change, and it’s only fair to get hold of anything that feeds us with the illusion of knowing everything.

#4

On Whether Airplanes Were Feasible In 1903

On Whether Airplanes Were Feasible In 1903 "Hence, if it requires, say, a thousand years to fit for easy flight a bird which started with rudimentary wings, or ten thousand for one with started with no wings at all and had to sprout them ab initio, it might be assumed that the flying machine which will really fly might be evolved by the combined and continuous efforts of mathematicians and mechanicians in from one million to ten million years — provided, of course, we can meanwhile eliminate such little drawbacks and embarrassments as the existing relation between weight and strength in inorganic materials."

nytimes , wright-brothers Report

Final score:

48points

Mike Crow 4 years ago

Remember that when people say that spaceships will never be practical, they had also said that airplanes would never be a commercial success.

12points

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#5

About A Rocket, 1936

About A Rocket, 1936 "A rocket will never be able to leave the Earth’s atmosphere."

nytimes , NASA Report

Final score:

48points

Mike Crow 4 years ago

And now we have rockets that can land upright again.

25points

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#6

About The Dangers Of Driving Automobiles At High Speeds

In 1904, The New York Times reported on a debate in Paris between a brain specialist and a physician about the dangers of driving automobiles at high speeds—because the brain can’t keep up. “It remains to be proved how fast the brain is capable of traveling,” reads the article. “If it cannot acquire an eight-mile per hour speed, then an auto running at the rate of 80 miles per hour is running without the guidance of the brain, and the many disastrous results are not to be marveled at.”

timesmachine , wikipedia Report

Final score:

47points

Johnny 4 years ago

"an auto running at the rate of 80 miles per hour is running without the guidance of the brain" Every time I drive on the freeway, I can see the wisdom in this statement.

85points

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The old-school New York Times’ predictions are definitely not the first and not the last ones that turned out to be completely wrong. Many of the more recent predictions have proven to be just as false.

For example, in 2009, it seemed like everyone was ready to start a decade of space tourism in the 2010s. “By 2020 you'll have seen private citizens circumnavigate the moon," Eric Anderson of Space Adventures announced in 2009. Meanwhile, Elon Musk stated that “I'm going to go out on a limb and say that by 2020 there will be serious plans to go to Mars with people."

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But the reality now is very different. After seven people paid to travel to space in the first decade of the 21st century, space tourism flights were halted in 2009. The delays have left people who signed up for such travel waiting.

#7

On Picasso And Cubism, 1911

On Picasso And Cubism, 1911 "It is to be regretted that this unquestionably talented artist… should now make his debut with a series of childish, not to say imbecile, scribbles that are no interest either as independent works of art or as steps toward achieving the complete work. They have neither material beauty nor that ‘spiritual significance’… nor merit of any other sort"

nytimes , theartblog Report

Final score:

31points

Pauline Bennett 4 years ago

One has to appreciate art for what it is it is one persons view. Not everyone will like it, some people don't like the Mona Lisa because she as no eyebrows they consider it unfinished.

11points

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#8

On Twitter, 2007

On Twitter, 2007 "Using Twitter for literate communication is about as likely as firing up a CB radio and hearing some guy recite ‘The Iliad.’ … Whether the service can be made into a sustainable business, [is] quite unknown. I’m skeptical"

nytimes , webdesignmuseum Report

Final score:

30points

WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago

"Using Twitter for literate communication is about as likely as firing up a CB radio and hearing some guy recite ‘The Iliad." He wasn't wrong there....

31points

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#9

On Apple In 1996

On Apple In 1996 "Whether they stand alone or are acquired, Apple as we know it is cooked. It’s so classic. It’s so sad."

nytimes , madebyshape Report

Final score:

29points

Johnny 4 years ago

That was a fair assessment at the time, Apple had just started licensing MacOS to third party manufacturers, so were destined to just be another operating system... then Steve Jobs returned to the company through NeXT

20points

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Rob Walker, a contributor to The New York Times, believes that when it comes to predictions, anything is possible, but he urges everyone to take “a closer look at how often definitive predictions about permanent change are simply extrapolations of recently observable trends taken to some maximum extreme.”

Even though speculation about what may happen is useful, Rob stresses that reality may unfold in “more complex and subtle ways than predicted. Because if you’re considering a time horizon of 12 years as opposed to 12 months, other things will happen—good and bad—that you cannot foresee but that will have some effect, however oblique, on whatever it is you are predicting.”

Therefore, reading anything that targets the future had better be done with a grain of salt, or two.

#10

On Hitler, 1922

On Hitler, 1922 "Several reliable, well-informed sources confirmed the idea that Hitler’s anti-Semitism was not so genuine or violent as it sounded, and that he was merely using anti-Semite propaganda as a bait to catch masses of followers and keep the aroused, enthusiastic and in line for the time when his organization is perfected and sufficiently powerful to be employed effectively for political purposes"

Final score:

28points

Hume 4 years ago

They were not entirely wrong. Hitler did use it as a tool to further his political aims. Hitler did not invent antisemitism, he just took what was already there just under the surface and used it. Obviously this did lead to the Holocaust, which is a serious matter in itself.

33points

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#11

The Ipod In 2001

The Ipod In 2001 "It’s a nice feature for Macintosh users,’ said P. J. McNealy, a senior analyst for Gartner G2, an e-commerce research group. ‘But to the rest of the Windows world, it doesn’t make any difference."

nytimes , macworld Report

Final score:

28points

WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago

And he was right. Very few Windows users bought an Ipod, mainly because other MP3 players were cheaper and it was much easier to get your MP3 files copied to them.

6points

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#12

On The Potential Of Aerosmith, 1973

On The Potential Of Aerosmith, 1973 "Aerosmith, the opening act, played loud, derivative rock, distinguished only by Steve Tyler’s fawning imitation of Mick Jagger"

nytimes , wikipedia Report

Final score:

25points

WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago

Steve Tyler's voice is much more impressive and powerful, though.

24points

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#13

On Wheel Of Fortune, 1986

On Wheel Of Fortune, 1986 "It is generally conceded that ‘Wheel,’ entering its fourth year in syndication, can’t go on as it has forever. But most industry observers maintain that while the show may be nearing its peak, its impact remains huge"

nytimes , Loudersoft Report

Final score:

21points

Sean Baxter 4 years ago

Making predictions on entertainment is hard. It's almost impossible to know what people will like.

7points

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#14

On Bagels, 1946

On Bagels, 1946 "Bagels, which are small, hard Jewish rolls with holes in the center, were sent to [the] Secretary of Agriculture… with notes warning that this is what a loaf of bread would look like if the government permitted bakers to make further reductions in size. ‘A bagel is a hole with a roll around it,’ [consumer advocate Dr. Helen] Harris informed the officials, “Another cut in the weight of bread and this bagel will go as a loaf at the present price of bread.’"

nytimes , Western Bagel Report

Final score:

21points

BusLady 4 years ago

I'll take one of those, gentlemen. Don't forget the cream cheese.Yum.

1point

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#15

On Whether Space Travel Was Feasible In 1920

"That [rocket pioneer Robert] Goddard… does not know the relation of action to reaction, and of the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react — to say that would be absurd. Of course he only seems to lack the knowledge ladled out daily in high schools."

Final score:

17points

chi-wei shen 4 years ago

On 17 July 1969, when the Apollo 11 crew was on the way to the first manned landing on the Moon, the New York Times printed a correction of that article from 13 January 1920. Their final sentence was "The Times regrets the error."

14points

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#16

On The Future Of Cocaine, 1914

On The Future Of Cocaine, 1914 "The drug produces several other conditions that make the ‘fiend’ a peculiarly dangerous criminal. One of these conditions is a temporary immunity to shock, a resistance to the knock down effects of fatal wounds… seems to be produced in the cocaine-sniffing n***o. … Once the n***o has formed the habit, he is irreclaimable. The only method to keep him from taking the drug is by imprisoning him. … For the thousands of n***oes who have not yet acquired the habit, but who will do so eventually if present conditions continue, the outlook is scarcely more hopeful."

Final score:

16points

MrTree1779 4 years ago

Watch the documentary series "Hooked: Illegal Drugs & How They Got That Way" -- Every time we made a drug "illegal", it was due to racism. Which is why Prohibition failed, and why cigarettes have never been illegal. --- We don't make WHITE drugs illegal. Only drugs which started gaining popularity with brown people.

13points

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Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.

Ilona Baliūnaitė

I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

What's the most ridiculous prediction you've ever heard?

Pamela24 4 years ago

I think it's very easy to see those as ridiculous now that we know what actually happened. In Czech, we say "Everyone is the general after the battle". Many of these seem like the people writing them were thinking too highly of themselves and therefore I understand people laughing at them but a decent amount of those also seems like something many people would reasonably think had they not know the future. And like we ourselves most likely make such wrong assumptions daily even now (though probably less often as more information is shared and readily available in your pocket for you to make that assumption).

8points

Truth Monster 4 years ago

Hilary Clinton Predicted to Win by 91% (published 21 days before the 2016 election) https://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2016/10/18/presidential-forecast-updates/newsletter.html

1point

WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago

She won by popular vote, but the USA isn't a democracy.

7points

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Leah Helbig 4 years ago

It wouldn't have changed anything she is a POS just like the one that is in office now just a different smell. Come on was done with that b***h the day she said at this point what difference does it make!. If I would have it my way we would hang them all president and ex presidents included for high crimes of treason.

0points

brukernavn340 4 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

-1point

manon M 4 years ago

it was interesting the articles AND the comments for once there were no trolls (i have not read these because "politic" is baaack )

0points

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Pamela24 4 years ago

I think it's very easy to see those as ridiculous now that we know what actually happened. In Czech, we say "Everyone is the general after the battle". Many of these seem like the people writing them were thinking too highly of themselves and therefore I understand people laughing at them but a decent amount of those also seems like something many people would reasonably think had they not know the future. And like we ourselves most likely make such wrong assumptions daily even now (though probably less often as more information is shared and readily available in your pocket for you to make that assumption).

8points

Truth Monster 4 years ago

Hilary Clinton Predicted to Win by 91% (published 21 days before the 2016 election) https://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2016/10/18/presidential-forecast-updates/newsletter.html

1point

WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago

She won by popular vote, but the USA isn't a democracy.

7points

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Leah Helbig 4 years ago

It wouldn't have changed anything she is a POS just like the one that is in office now just a different smell. Come on was done with that b***h the day she said at this point what difference does it make!. If I would have it my way we would hang them all president and ex presidents included for high crimes of treason.

0points

brukernavn340 4 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

-1point

manon M 4 years ago

it was interesting the articles AND the comments for once there were no trolls (i have not read these because "politic" is baaack )

0points

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