Quaint, hopeful and at times creepily accurate. This story with Walter Kronkite is just fascinating, as a historical artifact, and also to see just how many of these ideas actually came to fruition and how far beyond these simple ways of living we have come.
“The domestication of the computer is upon us”. And what a computer it was! This machine could recalculate a recipe for housewives who want to add more guests for dinner.
“With equipment like this, we may not have to go to work…the work may come to us!” Indeed it does.
Some ideas are so quaint that they’re sweet, like the inflatable portable chair that people will take with them wherever they go.
One idea hasn’t yet been realised. Plastic moulded plates that are instantly created on the spot in the kitchen. Once used the plates are remelted into plastic, with the food scraps destroyed in the process. Then once they’re required again – simply order the number of plates required for instant new crockery and utensils. The idea never saw the light of day, presumably because it was too energy inefficient.
Although the concept of melting down reusable tools has taken a brand new turn now with 3D printing. Perhaps this weird idea may still become a reality?
“We spend all day in a labyrinth, well…we’re going to spend all night in one too. It’s just about making that as tolerable as possible.”
Content Catnip 