# Stunningly bad predictions that you have made **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 9, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356 "2004-05-09T22:37:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/41 "2004-05-10T13:23:50Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > …The one comedian I was really looking forward to seeing in a sitcom was… Richard Jeni. And his sitcom SUCKED and rightfully bombed. Where da heck were you when I was writing my post?! I was trying to think of Richard Jeni and could not for the life of me remember his name (or the name of the show for that matter :smack: And yeah, the show did suck.) ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/42 "2004-05-10T13:26:14Z")
“This is an awesome show! I can’t wait to see the next episode of _Probe_!” I Never thought I’d see home computers hit the sub $1000 price. Custom Cases (black and tan … who would want COLORS on a computer?). Our home value will never go up by 50%. “Alright, but you’re going to owe me big time for dragging me out of a soothing tub soak to watch … what did you call it, _Firefly_?” ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/43 "2004-05-10T13:28:54Z")
> [@screech-owl](#): > > Where da heck were you when I was writing my post?! I was trying to think of Richard Jeni and could not for the life of me remember his name (or the name of the show for that matter :smack: And yeah, the show did suck.) I even remember the name of the show: “Playtpus Man”. What a disappointment… Some of his standup was the funniest I ever heard, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/44 "2004-05-10T13:38:37Z")
> [@Mynn](#): > > “This is an awesome show! I can’t wait to see the next episode of _Probe_!” Hey, I _liked_ Probe! ---
**Author:** ![TwoTrouts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@TwoTrouts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoTrouts)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/45 "2004-05-10T13:38:57Z")
Back in '74 I was at a Mott the Hoople (remember them?) concert, crammed into the front of the stage. The opening band was, I thought, a second-rate garage band version of the Stones. I had never heard of them and just wanted them to get off the stage. After their final number, I yelled at the singer “Yeah! Dream On guys! You’ll never be half as big as Mott the Hoople!” The lead singer turned and glared at me as the band left the stage. Yup, it was Aerosmith. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/46 "2004-05-10T15:45:41Z")
> [@Ross](#): > > And of course, by the year 2000 we’ll all be living in cities on the moon. I still believe that one. Alternative Three. ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/47 "2004-05-10T16:26:51Z")
Eh? ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/48 "2004-05-10T16:47:29Z")
> [@TwoTrouts](#): > > …"Yeah! Dream On… Mebbe you inspired them to write the song? ---
**Author:** ![Sangre\_Azul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@Sangre\_Azul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangre_Azul)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/49 "2004-05-10T17:17:38Z")
I had an internet predicition similar to Khadaji’s. When I first heard about Mosaic (the first browser that supported inline images), I remarked, “Who needs to see images on the web? Can’t people read? What a waste of time.” I guess I just didn’t set my sights high enough. Or maybe place my thoughts low enough… {cough} ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/50 "2004-05-10T18:10:58Z")
Shaquille O’Neal would never be a great NBA basketball player. ---
**Author:** ![Call\_me\_Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Call\_me\_Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Call_me_Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/51 "2004-05-10T18:41:37Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Heh, I remember thinking the same thing way back when I got an 80 MB HD. At least we were in sight of what might be the ball park… Didn’t Bill Gates say that 640Kb would be more memory than anyone would ever need? Even if he was referring to _RAM_ that’s “stunningly bad”… ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/52 "2004-05-10T18:54:02Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Hey, I _liked_ Probe! Exactly. Who knew they’d cancel the damn thing? Oh, I remember reading about multitasking and running programs in windows on a Macintosh back in the day and wondering why on earth I’d need to do more than one thing at a time or have more than one program running on a computer at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![pestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e5b9ba/32.png) [@pestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pestie)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/53 "2004-05-10T19:06:17Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Someone described to me the very first web browser, Mosaic. I thought it was just another hypertext thing that wouldn’t catch on. Along these lines, I loudly and proudly declared this World Wide Web thing to be pointless, since gopher provided the exact same functionality without all the stupid bells and whistles, like pictures, which just slowed things down. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/54 "2004-05-10T19:47:47Z")
1. Payton Manning? God are they stupid! I know his dad was good, But Ryan Leaf is a real stud, Payton will be average at best. 2. Oh god is this that stupid ‘Real World’ show. What a stupid idea, nobody is going to want to watch other average people. 3.Oh come on Marinos just a rookie and he had 48 touchdowns and made the super bowl. He’ll probably win 8 out the next ten super bowls. 1. Holy crap that’s the guy from Bill and Ted trying to be serious. What fucking idiot decided to put him as a main character in an action movie, it’ll never work. (Upon seeing a preview for Speed with Keanu) ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/55 "2004-05-10T19:55:48Z")
I mean point break not speed, speed was much later. And one more I remember. What an ugly ass piece of shit. Nobody will ever buy somthing that butt-ass-ugly and stupid. What the hells the point of it anyway, theres no way they’ll sell even one. No wonder Chrysler’s going of of business.(Approximately 1981 seeing a Minivan at a concept car show.) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/56 "2004-05-10T20:19:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Mebbe you inspired them to write the song? Their first album (which had Dream On on it) came out at the beginning of '73. Then again, **TwoTrouts** is far from the only person to call Aerosmith a second-rate version of the Stones. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/57 "2004-05-10T20:31:30Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I thought for sure that “Survivor” was going to be a bomb. Me too. I’m still hoping it will some day soon! ---
**Author:** ![TwoTrouts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@TwoTrouts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoTrouts)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/58 "2004-05-10T20:33:11Z")
Marley23. Correct. Their final number that night was “Dream On”, which prompted the phrasing of my yelled insult. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/59 "2004-05-10T20:47:43Z")
I have a long and not proud history in this area. Here are a few predictions my family and friends see fit to remind me of. Spiro Agnew is innocent. When it all comes out we’ll see that it was a plot to divert attention from Watergate. I don’t know if Carter will beat Reagan, but it will be really close. An all news channel? Who’s going to sit around and watch all-news? An all music channel? Who’s going to sit around and watch music videos. Michael Jackson was really cute with the Jackson 5, but no one wants to watch him as a solo act. I don’t know if Mondale can beat Reagan, but it will be really close. That bad call by Denkinger really hurt, but I know the Cardinals can come back to win the 1985 World series. We don’t need to spend money on networking the office. Why can’t we just put a file on a floppy disk and walk it over to the next person? Ross Perot? Who the hell will vote for Ross Perot? If he does anything, he’ll split the anti-Bush vote and Bush will win by an even bigger landslide. This thing with Lewinsky will force Clinton to resign, but maybe that won’t be so bad, because it will give Gore an advantage in 2000. Y2K will cause massive screwups in everything from automobile engine computers to Supercomputers. There is absolutely no way, I mean NO WAY that both the Cubs and the Red Sox could fall apart this late in the playoffs. One way or another, a curse will be broken! ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356/60 "2004-05-11T01:14:31Z")
My years as a radio station programmer were marked by many successes. I could sniff out a hit song from a stack of 45s (later CDs) and tell you almost every song that was going to be a hit and where it would chart within 5 places. I did have two notable failures, however. In the mid 80s when I was programming KDLX I refused to play “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin. I was convinced it was a novelty, and was a flash in the pan that would be gone next week. Result: Record of the Year, Song of the Year at the Grammys. My DJs never let me live that one down. And in 1989 when I was a sales executive with a music programming firm, the owner knew of my strange talent and called me in to listen to a song by the lead singer of _The Police_. I listened, asked to listen again, and then pronounced my judgement. I can remember the words to this day: “It’s nice. Pleasant, actually. But I was waiting for it to go somewhere. It never seemed to take off to anything greater. It will be a hit, but I would imagine it won’t get much higher than number 30 or so. Wait a week and see what it does, then add it.” The song? **Fields Of Gold**. Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and possibly the song that defined Sting as an artist. I was never asked for my opinion on a song again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stunningly-bad-predictions-that-you-have-made/244356.md?page=4)