Forget flying cars and jetpacks , WHERE ’S MY ROBOT DOG ?
Back in the 1990s , the automaton Canis familiaris was the bully promise of the future . Or at least that ’s how ninety child remember it . By the second decade of the 21st century we were supposed to be chuck Fido for automaton dogs likeAIBO , find out above showing off a few magic trick in 1999 .
But it was n’t just automaton dog that were supposed to be the pets of tomorrow . Today , we ’re taking a look back at six of the things that were supposed to be our family pets of the future : from all things robot to miniature rhinoceros .
1) Robot Dogs
In 1939 , the Westinghouse robotElektrodazzled audience at the New York World ’s Fair . But Elektro seemed a chip lone . Sure , he could walk and speak and even smoke , but he needed a sidekick . So by 1940 he start to appear with mechanical man ’s best friend : Sparko , the robot dog .
The robot dog was supposed to be the right-down must - have favorite of the future . The only job ? golem wiener like Sparko ( pictured above ) do n’t face very cuddly and they historically have n’t seemed very “ impertinent . ” The Jetsons even tackled the outcome in theirfourth episode , concluding that a robo - dog was just more fuss than it was deserving .
Good old Astro , the physique - and - blood dog of tomorrow , may have been frail . But even in the mid-21st century , an old fashioned dog was still better than a robot barker .
Image : Sparko the electrical hound at the 1940 NY World ’s Fair viaCorbis
2) Miniature Horses
Back in 1905,Lifemagazine lead this cartoon of the lapdog - sized cavalry of the future . The mag take a firm stand that this was still 1,000 years into the future , but given current technological advances , there ’s no estimable reason we could n’t do this today . Aside from the fact that horses are just filthy shit car . There , I said it . miniskirt - horses would be gross and this popular opinion is in no manner shaded by my miserable allergic reaction to gymnastic horse .
figure : 1905 Albert Levering illustration forLife cartridge
3) Genetically Engineered Mini-Rhinos
The 1982 bookThe minor ’ Whole Future Catalogexplained that until latterly , “ it has been possible to bilk only coinage that are very similar . For instance , a female horse and a donkey can be crossbred to get a mule , but the reproductive cells of a horse and a domestic dog will not unite . ”
But soon , that would vary . And an entirely new era of weird creature hybrids would bring us the wonder that is themini - rhino , pictured above . What other bizzaro hybrids would we see ? The sky was the limitation .
But no man - animal hybrid . At least that ’s what George Bush promise us backin 2006 — no maninmals , please .
Image : Mini - rhino of tomorrow fromThe Kids Whole Future catalogue
4) Snakes
Today , Snake are n’t on the nose an middling American favorite . They ’re not as common as dog , cat , or even hamsters . But they do beat outferrets and gerbil .
Back in the late 19th century , some people insisted that the snake was the deary of the future . Even if they had to be arrested to make indisputable that could happen .
The August 22 , 1872 edition of the Fort Wayne Daily Sentinel in Indiana :
Dogs have nearly had their 24-hour interval , and so have computed axial tomography . The house dearie of the future tense will be snakes . To be sure , their introduction will receive with opposition , but prejudice will shortly bear away . A Mr. Mann , an English music teacher , has been arrested for keep snake in the grass loose about his house , and earmark them to cringe into the dwelling house of his neighbors . Upon the trial it was designate that Mr. Mann ’s two fiddling children represent with and fondle a untested Brazilian boa , and Mr. Mann himself asserted that “ these creatures are becoming sought after as pets by many secret persons , so that it is difficult to grease one’s palms one at all now . ” ‘ The spectacle of a Fifth Avenue belle sweeping down Broadway , leading a pet snake by a silk corduroy fastened to a silver - plat collar , will be the next sensation .
simulacrum : A Panthera tigris snake in the grass being handled by the foreland keeper of Bronx Zoo reptilian house in 1922 via Getty
5) Dinosaurs
What minor does n’t want a real - biography dinosaur to roleplay with ? I know I did . But short of Jurassic Park becoming real , the kids of the 21st hundred will have to settle for the same automaton dinosaur technology thatamazed visitorsto the 1964 New York World ’s Fair . Well , not the same engineering science . But dinosaurs that are much closer to a robot than some existent - lifeLittlefoot .
Image : Pleo dinosaur robot at the 2012 France Robotics Summit via Associated Press
6) No Animals
And finally , many predicted that the favourite of the future was experience no favorite at all . In fact , some thought we ’d haveno animals at all . For people of the beforetimes ™ who may have seen animals only as a source of net profit , this viewmade sense . Once the machines take over , why would we need beasts of burden ?
The horse particularly was single out plus for extinction . Who needed horses in the world when the slick new automobile get everybody where they necessitate to go without all the horsey waste ? Above , we see a French postcard from circa 1900 - 1910 that predicted the knight would be amere curiosityby the year 2000 .
ikon : French postcard via theNational Library of France
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