Prediction Fail.
«We will bury you.»
Nikita Krushchev, Soviet Premier, predicting Soviet communism will win over U.S. capitalism, 1958.«Everything that can be invented has been invented.»
Charles H. Duell, an official at the US patent office, 1899.«I see no good reasons why the views given in this volume should shock the religious sensibilities of anyone.»
Charles Darwin, in the foreword to his book, The Origin of Species, 1869.«Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.»
Irving Fisher, economics professor at Yale University, 1929.«If anything remains more or less unchanged, it will be the role of women.»
David Riesman, conservative American social scientist, 1967.«It will be gone by June.»
Variety, passing judgement on rock ‘n roll in 1955.«Democracy will be dead by 1950.»
John Langdon-Davies, A Short History of The Future, 1936.«A short-lived satirical pulp.»
TIME, writing off Mad magazine in 1956.«And for the tourist who really wants to get away from it all, safaris in Vietnam»
Newsweek, predicting popular holidays for the late 1960s.«Four or five frigates will do the business without any military force.» -– British prime minister Lord North, on dealing with the rebellious American colonies, 1774. «In all likelihood world inflation is over.»
International Monetary Fund Ceo, 1959.«This antitrust thing will blow over.»
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft.«Remote shopping, while entirely feasible, will flop - because women like to get out of the house, like to handle merchandise, like to be able to change their minds.» TIME, 1966, in one sentence writing off e-commerce long before anyone had ever heard of it. «That virus is a pussycat.» -– Dr. Peter Duesberg, molecular-biology professor at U.C. Berkeley, on HIV, 1988. «Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote.»
Grover Cleveland, U.S. President, 1905.«I am tired of all this sort of thing called science here… We have spent millions in that sort of thing for the last few years, and it is time it should be stopped.»
Simon Cameron, U.S. Senator, on the Smithsonian Institute, 1901.
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