# The future that never was

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-future-that-never-was/594068>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [August 25, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-future-that-never-was/594068 "2011-08-25T18:39:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 5

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**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:** [September 4, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-future-that-never-was/594068/81 "2011-09-04T00:25:43Z")

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> [@pete66](#):
>
> In 1979 The Earth was destroyed to make way for a hyperspatial express route. I hope you all remembered to grab your towels. oh and “Dont Panic”

Nitpick: this wasn’t presented as the future when it first came out, was it? Wasn’t it just set in a fictional “now”?

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**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-future-that-never-was/594068/82 "2011-09-04T16:21:34Z")

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[6 Terrifying Sci-Fi Predictions (About the Year 1997)](http://www.cracked.com/article_19404_6-terrifying-sci-fi-predictions-about-year-1997.html)

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**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-future-that-never-was/594068/83 "2011-09-08T15:21:58Z")

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> [@Phea](#):
>
> Y2K… never caused any problems.

Yeah… because programmers like me spent most of 1998 and 1999 letting our regular duties slip while we rewrote old code and converted databases to use four-digit years instead of two. Y2K didn’t cause any problems \*because \*of the early warnings.

Oh, and a bit of trivia: When “Thundarr” creator Steve Gerber met his friend and fellow writer, Marty Pasko, for dinner, he told him about the characters in his new series, and what an effort it was to come up with a good name for the big, hairy brute. Pasko glanced across the street at the entrance to UCLA, and said, “How about Ookla?” And history was made.

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**Author:** ![pete66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8c91f0/32.png) [@pete66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pete66)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-future-that-never-was/594068/84 "2011-09-08T21:20:17Z")

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[quote=“Lumpy, post:81, topic:594068”]

Nitpick: this wasn’t presented as the future when it first came out, was it? Wasn’t it just set in a fictional “now”?[/QUOTE  
After rereading a little of the book, id have to agree with you. Though its allways had a little of the futuristic feel to me.

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