In 1925, Edwin Hubble discovered that there were galaxies beyond the Milky Way, Calvin Coolidge was President, and the Roaring ’20s were in full swing. The future was looking bright, so what did people back then think would be happening in 2025? Which of these predictions came true, which ones are debatable, which ones are unbelievably false, and what are our predictions for 2125?
Archibald Montgomery Low, a British physicist, predicted “a day in the life of a man of the future, it included being woken by a radio alarm clock, and shopping by moving stairways and moving pavements.” A mostly correct prediction, with 85% of people being awoken every morning by an alarm clock, and we use Escalators in places like malls. However, the prediction that we’d use moving sidewalks (Although we use them in airports) for shopping is incorrect, as stated by Amareon Pickens (11), “It doesn’t sound useful, what if you wanted to change direction mid-way walking.”
Albert E. Wiggam, an American Psychologist, said that homely, dull people were having more children than beautiful, intelligent people. (Similar to the premise of the film, Ideocracy) “If we keep progressing in the wrong direction, as we have been doing, American beauty is bound to decline and there won’t be a good-looking girl to be found 100 years from now,’ he told an audience in Brooklyn, New York.
Amareon Pickens disagreed with his assessment, stating, “No, I don’t think so, we have come up in technology, make-up has become more advanced, fashion has become more of a staple in society, and beauty standards have risen a lot.” Coach Davis stated, “No, people were uglier back then, I mean look at the presidents.”
Sir Ronald Ross, a British Doctor, told a London audience that life expectancy would be 150 years old. As of 2025, the oldest verified person in history is Jeanne Calment, who lived to be over 122. The average American lifespan is a little bit over 79 years, and worldwide it’s 73 years. Sebastian Prada (11th) stated, “That’s a good prediction because there is more access to healthcare, maybe 100 years from now.”
While Coach Davis disagreed, stating “I think these are too much, it’s not that people can’t live longer, it’s not going to happen, I don’t know if our bodies are made to do that.”
As we look ahead towards the year 2125, some predictions are optimistic, while others are more cynical. Amareon Pickens believes that 2125 will feature “A new GTA game, we will have another sporting combat event, virtual reality will become really advanced, and Israel and Palestine will be at peace.”
While Sebastian Prada gives a more cynical prediction, “People will become completely dependent on technology, way more than today.”
Looking back at the predictions from 1925, it’s interesting to see the eerily accurate predictions and the completely wrong ones. Some predictions, like alarm clocks and escalators are part of daily life, while others like shopping on moving sidewalks or an extremely extended life span are far from the future we live in. Ultimately, the people of 1925 were both creative and limited by their time, just as we are today. As we look into the future of 2125, we should ask not just what the future will look like, but what values and beliefs are worth passing on to the future.
