20 predictions for 2020: Here's what people thought would happen by this year
Decades ago, academics, futurists and government agencies cast their predictions of what would happen by the year 2020. Will submarines reach historic depths? Who will lead future nations, and which ones will be global superpowers? Will Planet Earth even exist as we known it?
"I shall not be surprised if on my 92nd birthday I am able to go for a ride in an antigravity car," mathematician and scientist D.G. Brennan wrote in 1968.
Some, like Brennan, were overly optimistic. Others were spot-on. Here's what happened, what didn't and what was just plain crazy.
1. Life expectancy will rise to over 100
Futurist Ray Kurzweil predicted in 1999 that human life expectancy would rise to "over one hundred" by 2019.
"Computerized health monitors built into watches, jewelry, and clothing which diagnose both acute and chronic health conditions are widely used. In addition to diagnosis, these monitors provide a range of remedial recommendations and interventions," he wrote in "The Age of Spiritual Machines."
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