# Futuristic technology from old TV shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258 "2013-03-18T14:51:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/61 "2013-03-21T11:32:43Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > That’s how Heinlein handled almost everything in his fiction. It just _was_, moving on now… look at the mobile phone in 1948’s _Space Cadet_; throwaway gadgetry never mentioned again. (And with some very accurate social observations about its use, as well…) > > . I’m well aware of it (and it’s been pointed out on this Board more than once). But the example from **operation Moonbase** is probably not as well known. Heinlein himself derided such predictions as pretty trivial (although that may hsave been his usual showboating), but they’re probably the best examples of how to tell a science fiction story – by having characters simply employing the futuristic technology without harping on it, and letting the audience observe it and work out what it was and how it got that way. And, instead, the writer concentrates on the social (and higher technological) implications of the evice. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/62 "2013-03-21T11:54:05Z")
By contrast, an example of how not to do it is Jules Verne’s _Paris in the 20th Century_. The main character is a perfectly ordinary citizen of his time, and yet he’s always getting gobstruck by all the “futuristic” devices he encounters in his day-to-day life. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/63 "2013-03-21T12:45:49Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Such vision… and in 1978, yet, when cordless phone prototypes were already around. Try 1967, when _The Prisoner_ depicted [cordless phones](http://www.theprisoneronline.com/html/arrival_37.html). ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/64 "2013-03-21T12:59:17Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > For some reason, European washers run in start-stop-start-stop-start-stop cycles. It does take them at least two hours to do a load that North American washers can finish in 30 minutes. I’m not sure it’s just Euro units. The modern front-load units use very little water, so they work in a toss-wait, toss-wait mode that gives soapy and clean water time to work without agitation. But our Samsung turns out even big loads in well under an hour. I think the idea that continuous agitation is necessary (or better) is wrong - it was just easier to build machines that ran that way. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/65 "2013-03-21T13:03:17Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’m well aware of it (and it’s been pointed out on this Board more than once). But the example from **operation Moonbase** is probably not as well known. True. Even less remembered are the screwy phones from “Waldo,” which had some kind of double dial. > [@Lumpy](#): > > Try 1967, when _The Prisoner_ depicted [cordless phones](http://www.theprisoneronline.com/html/arrival_37.html). You’re missing the point a bit. We’ve established fictional cordless phones back to 1939, in works N+P should have been familiar with… but when it came to their own slightly futuristic world, with things like mega-arcologies and implanted communication units, they overlooked a technology _that already existed in reality_. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/66 "2013-03-21T13:09:24Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The DNA of the criminal would definitely be on file, but it wouldn’t surprise me if using someone’s DNA without their permission counts as an illegal search in the future. It already is. Getting a DNA sample requires probable cause and a court order. (Its a lot more complicated than that and there are exceptions and differences from state to state but that would be a thread hijack) I recall someone (Asimov, Heinlein?) saying that many science fiction stories predicted a moon landing. And many predicted television. But no science fiction writer predicted we would be watching the first moon landing on live TV. Is that actually accurate? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/67 "2013-03-21T14:12:13Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > It already is. Getting a DNA sample requires probable cause and a court order. I think the movie _GATTACA_ got it right, though, in portraying stealth DNA checks and consequences even though it was technically illegal. We’re significantly advanced since then and it would be little trouble to collect a DNA sample from an individual and have it tested. > [@](#): > > I recall someone (Asimov, Heinlein?) saying that many science fiction stories predicted a moon landing. And many predicted television. But no science fiction writer predicted we would be watching the first moon landing on live TV. Is that actually accurate? I believe so, and I believe it was again Heinlein who said it. Clarke, on the other hand, predicted so many small/common social/technical things that we can forgive him for his blunder about Martian mountains. He tossed off so many casual little future observations that proved accurate that it’s a bit eerie. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/68 "2013-03-21T14:42:20Z")
How come we don’t have those neat self-opening doors (that slid into the walls) as in STARTREK? Human servants are so much better than robotic ones…I’ll take upper-class 1900! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/69 "2013-03-21T14:50:38Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > I think the movie _GATTACA_ got it right, though, in portraying stealth DNA checks and consequences even though it was technically illegal. We’re significantly advanced since then and it would be little trouble to collect a DNA sample from an individual and have it tested. Sure. And I could run up to someone and jab them with a needle and run away. But it still wouldn’t be admissible in court. Currently when we have someone we want to match DNA with, when we have DNA evidence and the suspect _already has DNA on file from another case_, the court will not recognize and the lab will not do a comparision without a fresh exemplar sample taken from the suspect. And that exemplar requires a court order or consent. I have no doubt legal precedent will evolve on this issue. But thats the way it is right now. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/70 "2013-03-21T14:51:50Z")
Not a TV show(sorry), but there is a fun bit in “The Glass Bottom Boat” where Rod Taylor shows off a futuristic kitchen to Doris Day. (low-tech youtube clip of the scene: [http://youtu.be/oX29IWihzlc?t=24s](http://youtu.be/oX29IWihzlc?t=24s)) ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/71 "2013-03-21T15:03:58Z")
In the 1956 movie “Forbidden Planet” Dr. Morbius plays music from the extinct alien civilization the Krell for the officers of the spaceship C-57D. This is done via a small cone shape object about the size of a piece of candy corn. Not too far removed from an ipad mini since in 1956 music came on 12" albums or 10" Ree-to-reel tapes. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/72 "2013-03-21T15:28:02Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Sure. And I could run up to someone and jab them with a needle and run away. But it still wouldn’t be admissible in court. The results didn’t end up in court in GATTACA, either. Just finding out that an employee or citizen had health or mental issues, or genetic potential for them, was enough to ruin their lives. I can see this becoming reality before the next tick of the tens digit; get a surreptitious DNA sample from job applicants, run a $10 test, and reject them because… well, for whatever reason. Nothing to do with being admissible under the legal system. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/73 "2013-03-21T16:28:16Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > How come we don’t have those neat self-opening doors (that slid into the walls) as in STARTREK? Human servants are so much better than robotic ones..I’ll take upper-class 1900! Guess you’ve never seen the ST blooper reel. That explains their problem. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/74 "2013-03-21T16:42:25Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Guess you’ve never seen the ST blooper reel. That explains their problem. 😛 The guy with the 2" x 4" daydreaming. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/75 "2013-03-21T18:57:29Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > How come we don’t have those neat self-opening doors (that slid into the walls) as in STARTREK? Human servants are so much better than robotic ones..I’ll take upper-class 1900! I’d gladly take Dr McCoy/Crusher/Bashir/EMH over Dr Quinn or Dr Clarkson. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/76 "2013-03-22T19:54:19Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Microtapes. They were called microtapes. Apparently, 23rd century duotronic technology couldn’t handle either discs or USBs. :rolleyes: I don’t think they were literally tapes; it was more that that the language had changed so that “tape” meant “recording medium.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/77 "2013-03-22T21:06:02Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I don’t think they were literally tapes; it was more that that the language had changed so that “tape” meant “recording medium.” See, my conceit when watching Star Trek is that everything we see is being fed through the universal translator into a more modern-sounding idiom. It’s a variation of the [literary agent hypothesis](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LiteraryAgentHypothesis). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/78 "2013-03-22T21:15:26Z")
When Franz Josef designs was doing the Star Trek Blueprints and the Star Fleet Technical Mamnual back in the 1970s, their conceit was that they were only showing 20th century equivalents. Which is why they showed Spock’;s tricorder filled with clunky individual capacitors and resistors and a mini-CRT screen. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/79 "2013-03-22T21:47:20Z")
This would also explain why they put in a waterline on the Enterprise blueprints. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258/80 "2013-03-22T22:50:15Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > This would also explain why they put in a waterline on the Enterprise blueprints. If the trailer for ST2 is any indication, it needed it. I have both of those things. My STTM signed by Scotty is one of my most guilty-pleasure treasures. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futuristic-technology-from-old-tv-shows/653258.md?page=5)