way2go! 5, Schulbuch

158 Unit 12 | The future of … By the way: Predictions that didn’t come true Throughout history, people have tried to predict events that would rock the world. Read on for some spectacularly wrong predictions. Find reasons that could explain why each of these predictions failed so badly. Online shopping In 1966, Time magazine ran a bold prediction: “Remote shopping, while possible, will flop – because women like to get out of the house, like to handle merchandise, like to be able to change their minds.” While it is true that today many people still like to leave their homes and see products first-hand, this prediction was way off the mark and becomes more so every year. In 2015, Americans alone spent more than 300 billion dollars online. Television Studies show that the average American watches more than five hours of television a day. In 1946, however, studio executive Darryl F. Zanuck couldn’t imagine TV becoming very popular. “Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months,” he predicted. “People will soon get tired of staring at a wooden box every night.” Zanuck wasn’t the only person to get it wrong. The New York Times ran an article in 1939 that said, “The problem with television is that people must sit and keep their eyes glued to the screen; the average American family hasn’t time for it.” Rocket mail Arthur Summerfield, US Postmaster General in 1959, is perhaps best known for the following prediction: “Before man reaches the moon,” he said, “your mail will be delivered within hours from New York to Australia by guided missiles.” For anyone waiting for that special package from an online shop, this must sound like a great idea. In the same year, the US Post Office tested ‘Missile Mail’ for the first and last time. Sadly, the programme was never implemented. N r zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv