A couple of million years ago there used to be a programme on BBC (because there was only the one BBC channel back then) called Tomorrow’s World. A tall thin guy who could have been a minor Bond villain but who actually was a former Spitfire pilot, and a short dumpy guy with glasses, who looked like an early Penfold, would talk to an attractive token female presenter about amazing inventions that would soon be available to us plebs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, I’m still waiting for my flying car and my jetpack, but it occurred to me, driving back from Wales the other night, that the future is now and is sitting in our everyday objects, namely: our cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I drove down Cheshire’s dark A-roads my car wouldn’t let me cross a white line on either side unless I had indicated correctly. The front and rear wipers activated themselves only when they needed to. Cruise control meant I could take my foot off the accelerator yet if I got too close to the car in front, or a cyclist, or a pedestrian, the car would disengage cruise control and start braking. And the lights flipped up to high beam when there was no street lighting and when there were no other vehicles around, but they quickly dipped themselves if a car came towards me (or if I gained on the car in front), or if I drove into a well-lit area. Now all that stuff is pretty amazing really, and yet it’s pretty base functionality in our cars these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I can’t help wondering what Tomorrow’s World would have made of it all. But just for some context, here’s a taste of an episode; just take a look at what the good folk back in 1969 reckoned we’d have as everyday objects:<\/p>\n\n\n\n