Yes, today we are literally back to the future.
“We’re descending toward Hill Valley, California, at 4:29 pm, on Wednesday, October 21st, 2015.”
According to the ’89 sci-fi classic, by October 21 2015, we would all be living in a world of hoverboards, flying cars and self-tying shoelaces. And now the day has actually arrived. So, what did Back to the Future II actually get right about 2015? It features several scenes of characters watching screens very much like the oversize ones we actually watch today. Videophones barely existed in ’89. FaceTime and Skype are now ubiquitous, and the video call has evolved is now a part of everyday life. Another great piece of technology are these rigid flex circuit boards which have been making their way into market while gaining popularity.
Hoverboards
Earlier this year, Canadian inventor Catalin Alexandru Duru broke the world record for the longest hoverboard flight, standing on the back of a Omni Hoverboard, his homemade, propeller-powered vehicle with its downward-thrusting propellers, powered by a dozen lithium polymer batteries. Hendo Hoverboard, which uses electromagnets to zip above a metal floor, unveiled a wheelless skateboard made from bamboo and carbon fibre fitted with a superconductor cooled by liquid nitrogen to enable it to levitate above magnetic flooring. Tony Hawk rides it, below.
Video glasses
Wearable technology, like the wraparound glasses that Marty uses to answer and speak on the phone (Google Glass, hello!?) came to reality but everyone said, “No, thanks.” Microsoft‘s recently announced Hololens bears more then a passing resemblence to Junior’s goggles.
Fingerprint I.D.
Biff pays for a taxi ride with a thumb print – just like the fingerprint technology used on the iPhone 6 and cashless apps such as Uber, Hailo and Bounce.
So, what did Back to the Future II get wrong?
Flying cars
We’re not quite at the stage of seeing cars zip through the air and fossil fuels mostly power our cars despite electric making inroads.
Fax machines
The film went a little too heavy on its predictions for fax machines, which it imagined would be everywhere in 2015. We’re glad they’re not. There’s one big invention they really missed out on. Smartphones and tablets, undeniably the most important technological breakthrough of the last decade.
Power clothing
Now this might be THE one thing we wish 2015 had brought: jackets that dry themselves and shoes that lace themselves up. No, I’ll take the hoverboard.
Doesn’t it make you want to watch the movie tonight? If there’s a day to do it today is the day. And you might want to have a Pepsi Perfect while watching. The drink was seen in the movie and its been reissued today.
(via The Telegraph)
