887: Future Timeline
| Future Timeline |
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![Not shown: the approximately 30,000 identical, vaguely hysterical articles titled "WHITE PEOPLE IN [THE US/BRITAIN] TO BECOME MINORITY BY [YEAR]!", which came up for basically any year I put in.](/wiki/index.php/File:future_timeline.png) Title text: Not shown: the approximately 30,000 identical, vaguely hysterical articles titled "WHITE PEOPLE IN [THE US/BRITAIN] TO BECOME MINORITY BY [YEAR]!", which came up for basically any year I put in. |
Explanation
This comic uses the same strategy as comic 715: Numbers, in which Randall uses Google to search for phrases and then charts the results. This one is charted as a timeline, whereas 715 was charted as line graphs. It is a list of things predicted or announced by anyone at any time (the ones you see on Google search using "by the year..." or similar statements).
"2101 - War Was Beginning" is a reference to the opening narration of video game Zero Wing; the same narration is famous for the internet meme "All your base are belong to us". As there are not any other out and out references in the comic, and the rest are actually results that you can find using Randall's methods, "War Was Beginning" was probably the only thing he got when he googled 2101 as well.
Certain events in this comic, e.g. "Social Security stops running surplus", are repeated multiple times. Also, certain bizarre events, like "Apocalypse occurs", or "Flying cars reach market", happen before rather plausible things, like "HTML 5 Finished". Certain events, like "Japan is a robot-only country" or "Gillette introduces 14-blade razor" may be related to the recurring theme 605: Extrapolating.
The title text is born of a recurring "white people panic" situation; scaremongers will predict white minority in the very near future in order to get the panicked racist people to pay attention to them (without actually using valid or accepted scientific measurements to back up these claims- panicked racist people don't exactly fact-check very much), while level-headed sociologists will usually come up with more distant, if not nonexistent, dates from their extrapolations.
This comic has similar features to 1413: Suddenly Popular, 1093: Forget, and 891: Movie Ages.
Accuracy
2012-2014
The only predictions for this period that came true are that the world population has surpassed 7 billion and that US combat troops have withdrawn from Afghanistan. Canada formally withdrew from the Kyoto protocol in December 2011, and its emissions in 2012 were 18% above 1990 levels (though its population had grown 26% and its GDP had grown 67% in that period). Sadly, homelessness is still a problem in Massachusetts. The prediction about GNU/Linux operating systems remains false; although Android (which is built on the Linux kernel) is currently the most dominant OS, it is not completely GNU/Linux, which remains an extreme minority on consumer devices. And so far as we're aware, the apocalypse has yet to occur.
2015-2016
New Horizons is to make its closest approach to Pluto in July of 2015.[1] It was never intended to land on Pluto.
Android OS' market share was already 84.4% as of the third quarter of 2014, showing that both estimates were overly conservative.[2] Windows Phone continued to have less than 30% of iOS' market share.
The predictions
| Year | Prediction | Further Details |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | World population | Ever since the advent of modern medicine and the more efficient agricultural processes developed suit the Industrial Revolution, the human population had been growing at an unprecedented rate. This has caused some people to worry about overpopulation, which would cause a scarcity of resources and overcrowding, and propose various solutions, most of which involve some form of eugenics. 7 billion is a landmark number because it is a multiple of 1 billion. |
| Flying cars | For decades, flying cars have been a staple of futuristic sci-fi and technological predictions. So far very few of these predictions, which to tend to hover around 5–10 years from whatever the current date is, have come true. | |
| Canada cuts greenhouse emissions | Currently, the Earth is experiencing an unprecedented period of warming we call global warming, caused in part by greenhouse emissions, which are gases that help trap heat in the atmosphere. Countries have repeatedly gotten together and promised to stop emitting greenhouse gases, but so far they have failed to meet their targets. Canada withdrew. | |
| Apocalypse occurs | The end of a cycle of the Mayan calendar on December 22, 2012 has been used in popular culture as a basis for predicting the end of the world. Amongst other things, this included the film '2012'. Some people took this rather more seriously, and actually believed that the world would end on this date. It didn't.[citation needed] | |
| 2013 | National debt paid off | For years, the subject of national debt has been a political point of contention, with the Republicans typically favoring paying it all off, and the Democrats more willing to spend to pull the country out of recessions in the economy. Clinton, a Democrat, at one point proposed paying off the debt by 2015. |
| Microchipping Americans | Microchips are small computer chips, typically embedded in pets in case they get lost, that contain information about the pet. Some, more paranoid, people worry about the government microchipping everyone in an effort to monitor their activities. | |
| Homelessness ended in MA | In 2008, the Commission To End Homelessness in Massachusetts, under Governor Deval Patrick, proposed a plan to all but eliminate homelessness over the next five years (hence the 2013 end-date on the comic). | |
| Health care reform law repealed | A health care reform law, popularly known as Obamacare, was signed into law in 2010. Ever since, many Republicans have tried (in vain) to repeal it, disliking the idea that government should provide and require healthcare. | |
| 2014 | US leaves Afghanistan | After the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City on September 11, 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan, which at the time allegedly hosted the headquarters of al-Qaeda, the terrorist organization behind the attacks. The war has gone on since then, with the public growing increasingly tired of it. Public support now favors a withdrawal, but for military and logistical reasons, the government cannot simply move all the troops currently in Afghanistan home right now. For one, that would cause immediate chaos in the country. Therefore, the government instead promises to eventually withdraw all troops, planning on doing so by the end of 2014. |
| GNU/Linux dominant OS | An operating system, or OS, is the software that forms the structure in which applications on you computer function. Some typical OSs include Mac OS X, Windows 8, and Linux. The first two of those three are commercial products, sold as a copy by a company. The last is an open-source OS, one that anyone can download and modify free. Typically, open-source software is used by a small number of socially conscious people. It is therefore unrealistic to predict that it will become mainstream in the near future. | |
| 2015 | New Horizon reaches Pluto | The New Horizon spacecraft is a U.S. space mission designed to go to Pluto and take photographs, collect samples, etc. It is scheduled to reach Pluto in 2015. |
| Healthcare law causes hyperinflation | The National Inflation Association warns that the Healthcare Bill to Cause U.S. Hyperinflation By 2015 | |
| Millennium development goals achieved | Millennium Development Goals | |
| 2016 | Baby boomers begin turning 65 | Baby boomers are individuals conceived in the years following World War Two, roughly defined as those born from 1946-1959. This isn't so much a prediction as basic math; if you were born in 1946, you turned 65 in 2011. |
| Android takes 38%/45% of market share | Android is a popular operating system for smartphones and tablets, created by Google. Market share is the percentage of all devices that use the product, in this case the Android operating system. These entries together are humorous because they cannot both happen at the same time. | |
| Windows phone overtakes iOS | iOS is the operating system used by Apple iPhones. At the time of the comic, Apple's mobile OS is much more popular than Microsoft's. The article Randall found predicts that the tables will turn. | |
| 2017 | China completes lunar mission | The Chinese space program has plans for extraterrestrial exploration, including a manned mission to the moon. |
| Social Security stops running surplus | The first of many predictions about the United States Social Security trust fund program, all predicting its decline due to a variety of factors. | |
| US budget balanced | The United States federal budget outlines how much the US government spends on what in a given fiscal year. The budget is not required to be balanced, and so often more money is spent than is earned in revenue, causing the national debt to rise. | |
| Newspapers become obsolete and die out | The increasing popularity of internet media and mobile devices has caused a steady decline in the popularity of print media. | |
| Cosmetic surgery doubles | Cosmetic Surgery | |
| 2018 | Social Security stops running surplus | Social Security |
| Jesus returns to Earth | A number of Christians have attempted to predict the return of Christ (a.k.a. the second coming, the rapture) using clues from The Bible, even though the Bible itself says that "no man can know the date". Several predicted dates have come and gone. | |
| 2019 | Social Security stops running surplus | Social Security |
| Every baby has genes mapped at birth | Gene Mapping | |
| 2020 | Solar power becomes cheaper than fossil fuels | Scientists estimate that more than half of the fossil fuels in existance have already been found and that fossil fuel production will begin to decline due to the scarcity, causing prices to increase. At the same time, improvements in solar technology are causing the prices for solar energy to steadily decrease. |
| Keyboards and mice become obsolete | Computer input device are beginning to adopt other methods of input, such as voice commands, touch screens, and eye tracking. While the use of touch screens in particular is gaining widespread use, as of 2014 none has come close to making keyboards and mice obsolete. None of them allows text input as fast as a keyboard, and none is suitable for writing program code. | |
| New Tappan Zee bridge constructed | A replacement bridge was anounced in 2008 and is expected to be completed in 2018. | |
| 2021 | US debt reaches 97% of GDP | US Debt |
| US unemployment falls to 2.8% | Unemployment in the United States | |
| Restored caliphate unifies Middle East | A caliphate is a form of Islamic political-religious leadership, centred around a Caliph, or successor to the prophet Muhammad. This may be foreshadowing of the Islamic State of Iraq and greater Syria, which has as its goal the creation of a restored caliphate. | |
| Lake Mead evaporates | Formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States (measured by maximum capacity). It hasn't reached its capacity since 1983, due to drought and increased demand for water. This could be linked to global warming. | |
| 2022 | Kilimanjaro snow-free | At 5,895 metres, Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa, and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. Around 85% of its ice cover disappeared between 1912 and 2011, and it continues to recede. |
| HTML 5 finished | HTML 5 | |
| Newspapers become obsolete and die out | This is the second time this prediction has appeared. | |
| 2023 | Jesus returns to Earth (again) | A number of Christians have attempted to predict the return of Christ (a.k.a. the second coming, the rapture) using clues from The Bible, even though the Bible itself says that "no man can know the date". Several predicted dates have come and gone. |
| US debt passes 100% of GDP | This references the common fear that US Debt will exceed GDP, possibly causing economic turmoil. | |
| All unprotected ancient forests gone from Pacific Northwest | Likely due to a combination of wildfire and deforestation | |
| 2024 | Atlantis begins to reappear | Atlantis is the name of a fictional[citation needed] island, which is supposed to have been lost beneath the sea. |
| Orangutans extinct in wild | Orangutans are a species of great ape, currently classed as an endangered species, and found only in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. | |
| China lands men and women on the moon | The Chinese space program has plans for extraterrestrial exploration, including a manned mission to the moon. | |
| NASA sets up permanent moon base | There is a a lot of hype recently about finally returning to the moon, vis-a-vis Orion. | |
| Female professionals pass males in pay | There are two possible explanations for this entry: Either it's fear-mongering from misogynists or, more probably, an erroneous extrapolation from the current rate at which female incomes are catching up to male incomes. | |
| 2025 | World population reaches 8 billion | Given current rates, it seems unlikely it will take this long to hit 8 billion, but advances in birth control options and especially their availability in developing nations may slow the current rate considerably. |
| Two billion people face water shortages | http://english.pravda.ru/science/earth/28-01-2008/103693-water_crisis-0/ | |
| 62 MPG cars introduced | Miles per gallon. 62 MPG is a very good mileage rate at today's standard. | |
| US power fades | http://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-us-power-will-fade-by-2025/ | |
| 2026 | Atlantis emerges completely | Atlantis is the name of a fictional[citation needed] island, which is supposed to have been lost beneath the sea. It seems that it has taken 2 years for it to emerge completely. |
| Rock Bands die out | https://bestbands.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/rock-bands-to-die-out-by-2026/ | |
| US debt paid off | US Debt | |
| Car accidents cease | Presumably, cars will be fully automated and able to pilot themselves at this point and will have fail-safes that prevent collisions currently attributed to user error. Car accidents will always be possible, however, due to mechanical and electrical failures. | |
| West coast falls into ocean | Most likely due to a significant seismic event | |
| 2027 | Japan introduces new fastest Maglev train | Japan's railway systems are famous for their "bullet trains", or Shinkansen. |
| Lyndon Larouche-planned Mars colony is established | http://totse.mattfast1.com/en/technology/space_astronomy_nasa/moonmars.html | |
| Social Security stops running surplus | Social Security | |
| 2028 | Tobacco outlawed | Tobacco products (cigarettes and chewing tobacco) have become more and more taboo in modern culture, with most public places and private businesses forbidding their use indoors and near places children congregate. |
| 40% of coral reefs gone | Many factors have been attributed to the decline of coral reefs, including mining, over fishing, and rising ocean tempteratures. | |
| US debt paid off | US Debt nytimes.com It’s 2026, and the Debt Is Due By N. GREGORY MANKIW | |
| Social Security stops running surplus | Social Security | |
| 2029 | Social Security trust fund exhausted | Social Security |
| Computers pass the Turing test | Computers already clear the Turing Test about 30% of the time. Also, it is no coincidence that 2029 is the timeline for Terminator Movies. | |
| Aging reversed | Manhattan Beach Project to reverse aging by 2029 | |
| Wikipedia reaches 30 Million articles | As of 00:00, 5 January 2015 (UTC), Wikipedia has over 34 million total articles, if all languages are included. Randall may have meant the English language Wikipedia, which has only 4.686 million articles, as of 00:00, 5 January 2015 (UTC). | |
| 2030 | Half of Amazon rain forest lost to logging | WWF press release - Climate Change Speeds Up Amazon’s Destruction referring to a report on the Amazon's vicious cycles (PDF) |
| Cancer deaths double from 2008 levels | From the Global Cancer Burden to Nearly Double by 2030 article about the article from page 37 of Global Cancer Facts & Figures 2nd edition. | |
| Arctic ice-free in summer | http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/091015-arctic-ice-free-gone-video-ap.html | |
| 2031 | Computers controlled by thought | http://www.gizmag.com/future-mobile-technology/17554/ |
| Realtors replaced by technology | http://agbeat.com/editorials/will-realtors-be-replaced-by-technology-by-the-year-2031/ | |
| Social Security trust fund exhausted | http://crfb.org/blogs/cbo-95-percent-confident-social-security-trust-fund-runs-out-25-years | |
| 2032 | "Big One" hits San Francisco | http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Quake-scientists-predict-Big-One-likely-by-2032-2653745.php San Franscisco is located on the San Andreas Fault, which is predicted to produce a magnitude 7+ earthquake in the 'near future'. This event is referred to as "The Big One". |
| US elects first married lesbian President | http://4chandata.org/g/In-what-major-ways-do-you-think-the-world-of-2032-will-be-different-from-that-of-today-a20155 | |
| Entire world converted to Christianity | http://www.goddiscussion.com/38920/christian-domininionsts-to-take-over-the-world-by-2032/ | |
| 2033 | Kilimanjaro ice disappears | http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/11/02/idUSL2210825 |
| India becomes superpower | https://www.facebook.com/pages/India-A-SuperPower-by-2033/151177191568098 ? | |
| Europe reaches Mars | http://www.spacedaily.com/news/esa-general-03zb.html | |
| 2034 | US diabetes cases double, treatment costs triple | U.S. diabetes cases to double, costs triple by 2034 |
| US builds autonomous robot army | The concept of robots built for military service is another common element of science fiction stories. Unmanned Systems article, about the 2009-2034 Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap publication (details at Amazon) | |
| 2035 | 80% of America's energy comes from renewable sources | From fact sheet on Obama's State of the Union |
| Himalayan glaciers down 80% in size | From an IPCC report on The Himalayan glaciers that has been analysed in quite some depth. See for example detailed article on an anatomy of IPCC’s mistake. | |
| Arctic sea lane opens | Arctic sea lane could open by 2035 | |
| 2036 | 80% of US has access to high-speed rail | Obama: 80 Percent of Americans Should Have Access to High Speed Rail By 2036 |
| Asteroid Apophis misses/hits Earth | http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/apophis/ http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/apophis/ 99942 Apophis is a near-Earth asteroid that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 because initial observations indicated a probability of up to 2.7% that it would hit Earth on April 13, 2029. | |
| 2037 | Arctic ice-free in September | Arctic sea ice decline |
| Social Security trust fund exhausted | Social Security | |
| 2038 | 32-bit timestamps roll over, causing Y2K-level chaos | 03:14:07 UTC on 19 January 2038, the value of time_t rolls over, that is it will return to zero. time_t is the computing standard measurement of time, it is a count of the number of seconds since 00:00:00 UTC on 1 January 1970. time_t us used by most computer systems to store date and time information. It is recommended that new software should convert to a 64 bit time_t, indeed most operating systems designed to run on 64-bit hardware already use signed 64-bit time_t integers. This would give an epoch of 15:30:08 UTC on 4 December 292,277,026,596 (292 billion years away). Of course, legacy systems may not be upgradable so action taken now should prevent this becoming a problem closer to 2038... |
| "Big One" hits California | `The big one' likely to hit by 2038 | |
| 2039 | US population hits 400 Million | U.S. Population Projected to Hit 400 Million in 2039 |
| Severe heat waves become commonplace | Heat waves and extremely high temperatures could be commonplace in the U.S. by 2039, Stanford study finds | |
| Scientology becomes majority religion in US | Essay: Scientology in the year 2039 | |
| 2040 | Arctic summers ice-free | Arctic Summer Could be Ice-Free by 2040 |
| Nanotechnology makes humans immortal | Nanotech could make humans immortal by 2040, futurist says | |
| 2041 | Social Security trust fund exhausted | Social Security |
| 2043 | World population passes 9 Billion | Population growth |
| 2044 | Mankind genetically engineered to be happy | Premise of the movie Zenith - further details are in the film review for Zenith |
| Childhood obesity reaches 100% | 100-Percent Childhood Obesity Predicted by 2044 | |
| 2045 | Humans and machines merge | Ray Kurzweil predicts of 'singularity' which will lead to race of super intelligent beings |
| 2046 | World's natural resources depleted | Peak uncertainty, when will we run out of fossil fuels? |
| 2047 | World ruled by banks and corporations | Future Schlock - the story of a world turned upside down in 2047 |
| Tobacco industry fails | Experts: Big Tobacco dead by 2047, possibly sooner | |
| US begins using autonomous attack drones | US Air Force prepares drones to end era of fighter pilots | |
| 2048 | Salt-water fish extinct from overfishing | WWF report on Unsustainable fishing |
| Unisex bathing suits cover body from shoulder to ankle | RyansWorld: Bathing Suits of the Future | |
| Entire US population overweight | Article archive - Scientists Say Thin People Face Extinction in United States: Everyone Will Be Overweight by 2048 – And Less Smart | |
| 2049 | $1.000 computer exceeds computational ability of humanity | TechNotes: Trends in Technology |
| Singularity occurs | The Singularity Is Near | |
| Fishing industry collapses | This tends to happen when your food-stock is extinct - see WWF report on Unsustainable fishing | |
| 2050 | 80% of Earth's population lives in urban centers | 80% of world population will soon be in urban areas |
| China controls space | Space Science & Technology in China: A Roadmap to 2050 | |
| Sex with robots possible | Forecast: Sex and Marriage with Robots by 2050 | |
| Cars banned from European cities | EU to ban cars from cities by 2050 | |
| One million species extinct from climate change | By 2050 Warming to Doom Million Species, Study Says | |
| 2051 | Atmosphere escapes into space | Conspiracy theory relating to Fallstreak hole or hole punch clouds. |
| 2052 | Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security spending exceed total US revenue | Social Security |
| 2053 | US budget balanced | OMB releases long-term projections for the FY2015 budget proposal |
| Majority of Americans in prison | 'Beyond Bricks And Bars' As Jails Overflow, The Lock-'em-up Credo Is Drawing Unlikely Criticism - From Prison Officials Themselves | |
| Cars driven by dogs | This has already occured! | |
| 2054 | Hunger becomes unimaginable global problem | Hunger Could Be 'Unimaginable' Global Problem By 2054 |
| 2055 | Atmospheric CO2 doubled | Carbon Mitigation Initiative: Stabilization Wedges |
| Oil runs out | Peak uncertainty, when will we run out of fossil fuels? | |
| Copper, tin, lead, gold, and nickel all exhausted | 5 Valuable Metals That Could Vanish by 2055 | |
| 2056 | RFID-tagged driverless cars | RFID-tagged driverless cars on roads by 2056 |
| Robots given same rights as humans | Robots Given Same Rights As Humans By 2056 | |
| 2057 | 150 Japanese settlers on Mars | Will Japan colonize Mars? |
| Colorado River runs dry | Colorado River Reservoirs Could Bottom Out From Warming | |
| 2058 | Smoking ends in New Zealand | Smoking to die out in NZ by 2058 |
| 2059 | Humans have domesticated robots | Virtual necking, demography, and robots |
| 2060 | Human race lives in peace | ARAS vision/mission |
| Extreme droughts across much of Earth | Extreme drought across most of Earth by 2060 | |
| Global temperature rise reaches 4 °C | Avoiding dangerous climate change | |
| Oil runs out again | Oil may run out by 2060: HSBC | |
| 2061 | Halley's comet returns | Halley's comet returns to the inner solar system (the vicinity of earth and the sun) every 75.3 years. The last time it was near earth was in 1985-1986. When it next returns, its closest approach to the sun will occur on 28 July 2061.[3] |
| 2062 | Uganda hosts World Cup | Uganda to host world cup in 2062 |
| The Jetsons | The Jetsons was an animated science fiction sitcom that first aired in 1962. The show was set in the year 2062. | |
| 2063 | First human clones reach adulthood | The Fall - Last Days of Gaia Diary #2 |
| Population of Moon reaches 100,000 | Reading Eagle newspaper article from July 17, 1963 - Moon Population of 100,000 Is Predicted for 2063 and Air Force Predictions for 2063 (1963) | |
| Population of Mars reaches 10,000 | Air Force Predictions for 2063 (1963) | |
| Spacecraft exceed speed of light | Physics as currently understood states that it is impossible to exceed the speed of light. A monumental shift in our physics would have had to have occurred for this to come true. This is a reference to the 8th Star Trek feature Film: "Star Trek: First Contact" where Zefram Cochrane performs the first human Warp Flight on April 5, 2063. | |
| 2064 | Clean Air Act finishes reducing haze in national parks to natural levels | State plan guarantees a hazy future for Texas’ wilderness areas |
| 2065 | Last coral reefs die out | From an article about a video called Reefs on the Edge set in 2065 where a 15-year-old girl tells her grandfather's stories of corel reefs, and their demise. |
| Chernobyl cleanup complete | Chernobyl clean in 55 years time? | |
| 2066 | Cyprus achieves its goal | This is from some forum posts on the decendants of Cypriots that lends support to the autonomy of Cyprus from Greek or Turkey. |
| 2067 | Americans live in domed cities and watch 3D TV | The article at Artifact of the Month: Slide rule, 1916 includes information from the International Slide Rule Museum that "in 1967, Keuffel & Esser Co. commissioned a study of the future, predicting that Americans in 2067 would live in domed cities and watch 3D television." |
| Redheads go extinct | Are redheads going extinct? | |
| 2068 | Ozone hole over Antarctic finishes recovering | NASA Study Finds Clock Ticking Slower On Ozone Hole Recovery |
| The Resurrections -- What Really Happens | The Resurrections -- What Really Happens | |
| Entire world population gay due to chemicals in the water | Alex Jones talks about chemicals that make people gay | |
| 2069 | Public masturbation legalized | It's still not okay to Pull Your Penis out in Public |
| 2070 | World population peaks | Global population to peak in 2070 |
| City-scale flooding disasters | City-scale flooding disasters predicted by 2070 | |
| 60% of world's energy comes from renewable sources | What Is Alternative Energy All About? | |
| 2071 | Europe's temperatures rise by 3 °C | Projection of Economic impacts of climate change in Sectors of the European Union based on bottom-up Analysis |
| World summer temperatures rise by 5 °C | See "Air temperature changes in the 21st century" | |
| 2072 | US retirement age is set to 75 | Up to 70-80 years |
| 2073 | Oceans do not rise one foot | More like 2 feet |
| 2074 | Number of 100-year-olds reaches one million | UK to have 1 million centenarians by 2074 |
| Supertyphoons hit Japan | Super typhoons in store as seas warm | |
| 2075 | US retirement age set to 69 | Retirement age at 69? Deficit plan hits Social Security |
| 2076 | Average scientific paper has more than 24 authors | Multiple Authorship in Biochemistry and Other Fields (PDF) |
| Social Security trust fund exhausted | Social Security | |
| 2078 | Newspapers become obsolete and die out | The same prediction was made for 2017 and 2022. Even when most prognosticators agree that something will happen, there can still be much disagreement about when it will happen. |
| 2079 | US debt reaches 716% of GDP | US Debt |
| Lodgepole pines disappear from Northwest | Climate change causing demise of lodgepole pine in western North America | |
| Floods commonplace | Floods To Become Commonplace By 2080 | |
| Religion marginalized | http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-11347073 | |
| 2080 | Federal spending reaches 70% of GDP | Our debt problems are far from solved (PDF) |
| UK population doubles | Britain's population to hit 110 million | |
| 2082 | World population declines to one billion | Population: The Elephant in the Room |
| 2084 | Robot policemen introduced | Robotic cops set to stamp out crime by 2084 |
| 2085 | US deficit reaches 62% of GDP | Paul Krugman Throws In Towel, Says We’re Headed For Another Depression |
| 2088 | Japan becomes all-robot country | Japan To Become All Robot Country By 2088 |
| 2089 | World halts fossil fuel use | Fossil Fuels |
| 2090 | Global warming hits 7 °C | Models warn of 7C dangerous climate change by 2090 |
| Global warming hits 4 °C | Summarized here. In reference to Andy Bowers, “Analysis: Scientists say global warming could affect California's drinking water supply,” NPR All Things Considered, June 22, 2001 | |
| 2100 | Global warming around 5-7 °C | Hadley Center study warns of ‘catastrophic’ 5-7°C warming by 2100 on current emissions path |
| Sea levels have risen by a meter or more | Future sea level | |
| Joshua trees nearly extinct | Joshua Trees Nearly Wiped Out by 2100? | |
| Earth's climate resembles that of the Cretaceous | Atmospheric CO2 concentrations during ancient greenhouse climates were similar to those predicted for A.D. 2100 | |
| Germany tropical | Climate Change Predictions: A Tropical Germany by 2100? | |
| Emperor penguins extinct | Emperor penguins face extinction | |
| Arctic permafrost thaws | Surface Permafrost Could Disappear by 2100 | |
| Rising seas flood coastal cities | Rising Seas Will Affect Major U.S. Coastal Cities by 2100 | |
| Rain forests mostly gone due to climatic shifts | Massive Loss of Rainforest Species by 2100 | |
| All coral reefs gone | Coral Reefs Gone by 2100? | |
| Gillette introduces 14-bladed razor | Each iteration of the Gillette line of safety razors has one more blade than the previous one. MadTV has also parodied this. Over five years before MadTV did so, the Australian comedy group the D-Generation parodied the first two-bladed razor as the Gillette 3000 with 16 blades. | |
| 2101 | WAR WAS BEGINNING | References Zero Wing, a 1989 Japanese computer game set in 2101, famous for poorly translated English and the source for "All your base are belong to us". |
Transcript
- THE FUTURE
- According to Google search results
- Events for each year determined by the first page of Google search results for the phrases:
"By <year>" "In year" "By the year <year>" "In the year <year>" "Will * by the year <year>" "Will * in the year <year>" "In <year>, * will" "By <year>, * will"
2012 World population reaches 7 billion Flying cars reach market Canada cuts greenhouse emissions to 6% below 1990 levels as per Kyoto Apocalypse occurs 2013 National debt paid off through President Clinton's plans Microchipping of all Americans begins Homelessness ended in Massachusetts Health care reform law repealed 2014 US leaves Afghanistan GNU/Linux becomes dominant OS 2015 New Horizons reaches Pluto Health care law causes hyperinflation 192 UN member nations achieve millennium development goals: - Extreme poverty and hunger eradicated
- Universal primary education implemented
- Women empowered, gender equality reached
- Environmental stability ensured
2016 Baby boomers begin turning 65 Android takes 38% of the smartphone market Android takes 45% of the smartphone market Windows Phone overtakes iOS in smartphones 2017 China completes unmanned Lunar sample-return mission Social Security stops running surplus US budget balanced Newspapers become obsolete and die out Cosmetic surgery doubles 2018 Social Security stops running surplus Jesus returns to Earth 2019 Social Security stops running surplus Every baby has genes mapped at birth 2020 Solar power becomes cheaper than fossil fuels Keyboards and mice become obsolete New Tappan Zee bridge constructed 2021 US debt reaches 97% of GDP US unemployment falls to 2.8% Restored caliphate unifies Middle East Lake Mead evaporates 2022 Kilimanjaro snow-free HTML 5 finished Newspapers become obsolete and die out 2023 Jesus returns to Earth (again) US debt passes 100% of GDP All unprotected ancient forests gone from Pacific Northwest 2024 Atlantis begins to reappear Orangutans extinct in wild China lands men and women on the moon NASA sets up permanent moon base Female professionals pass males in pay 2025 World population reaches 8 billion Two billion people face water shortages 62 MPG cars introduced US power fades 2026 Atlantis emerges completely Rock Bands die out US debt paid off Car accidents cease West coast falls into ocean 2027 Japan introduces new fastest Maglev train Lyndon Larouche-planned Mars colony is established Social Security stops running surplus 2028 Tobacco outlawed 40% of coral reefs gone US debt paid off Social Security stops running surplus 2029 Social Security trust fund exhausted Computers pass the Turing test Aging reversed Wikipedia reaches 30 Million articles 2030 Half of Amazon rain forest lost to logging Cancer deaths double from 2008 levels Arctic ice-free in summer 2031 Computers controlled by thought Realtors replaced by technology Social Security trust fund exhausted 2032 "Big One" hits San Francisco US elects first married lesbian President Entire world converted to Christianity 2033 Kilimanjaro ice disappears India becomes superpower Europe reaches Mars 2034 US diabetes cases double, treatment costs triple US builds autonomous robot army 2035 80% of America's energy comes from renewable sources Himalayan glaciers down 80% in size Arctic sea lane opens 2036 80% of US has access to high-speed rail Asteroid Apophis misses/hits Earth 2037 Arctic ice-free in September Social Security trust fund exhausted 2038 32-bit timestamps roll over, causing Y2K-level chaos "Big One" hits California 2039 US population hits 400 Million Severe heat waves become commonplace Scientology becomes majority religion in US 2040 Arctic summers ice-free Nanotechnology makes humans immortal 2041 Social Security trust fund exhausted 2042 2043 World population passes 9 Billion 2044 Mankind genetically engineered to be happy Childhood obesity reaches 100% 2045 Humans and machines merge 2046 World's natural resources depleted 2047 World ruled by banks and corporations Tobacco industry fails US begins using autonomous attack drones 2048 Salt-water fish extinct from overfishing Unisex bathing suits cover body from shoulder to ankle Entire US population overweight 2049 $1.000 computer exceeds computational ability of humanity Singularity occurs Fishing industry collapses 2050 80% of Earth's population lives in urban centers China controls space Sex with robots possible Cars banned from European cities One million species extinct from climate change 2051 Atmosphere escapes into space 2052 Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security spending exceed total US revenue 2053 US budget balanced Majority of Americans in prison Cars driven by dogs 2054 Hunger becomes unimaginable global problem 2055 Atmospheric CO2 doubled Oil runs out Copper, tin, lead, gold, and nickel all exhausted 2056 RFID-tagged driverless cars Robots given same rights as humans 2057 150 Japanese settlers on Mars Colorado River runs dry 2058 Smoking ends in New Zealand 2059 Humans have domesticated robots 2060 Human race lives in peace Extreme droughts across much of Earth Global temperature rise reaches 4 °C Oil runs out again 2061 Halley's comet returns 2062 Uganda hosts World Cup The Jetsons 2063 First human clones reach adulthood Population of Moon reaches 100,000 Population of Mars reaches 10,000 Spacecraft exceed speed of light 2064 Clean Air Act finishes reducing haze in national parks to natural levels 2065 Last coral reefs die out Chernobyl cleanup complete 2066 Cyprus achieves its goal 2067 Americans live in domed cities and watch 3D TV Redheads go extinct 2068 Ozone hole over Antarctic finishes recovering Lord Jesus rules Earth from throne in Jerusalem Entire world population gay due to chemicals in the water 2069 Public masturbation legalized 2070 World population peaks City-scale flooding disasters 60% of world's energy comes from renewable sources 2071 Europe's temperatures rise by 3 °C World summer temperatures rise by 5 °C 2072 US retirement age is set to 75 2073 Oceans do not rise one foot 2074 Number of 100-year-olds reaches one million Supertyphoons hit Japan 2075 US retirement age set to 69 2076 Average scientific paper has more than 24 authors Social Security trust fund exhausted 2077 2078 Newspapers become obsolete and die out 2079 US debt reaches 716% of GDP Lodgepole pines disappear from Northwest Floods commonplace Religion marginalized 2080 Federal spending reaches 70% of GDP UK population doubles 2081 2082 World population declines to one billion 2083 2084 Robot policemen introduced 2085 US deficit reaches 62% of GDP 2086 2087 2088 Japan becomes all-robot country 2089 World halts fossil fuel use 2090 Global warming hits 7 °C Global warming hits 4 °C 2091 2092 2093 2094 2095 2096 2097 2098 2099 2100 Global warming around 5-7 °C Sea levels have risen by a meter or more Joshua trees nearly extinct Earth's climate resembles that of the Cretaceous Germany tropical Emperor penguins extinct Arctic permafrost thaws Rising seas flood coastal cities Rain forests mostly gone due to climatic shifts All coral reefs gone Gillette introduces 14-bladed razor 2101 WAR WAS BEGINNING
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The explanation is really messed up. You can hardly tell where one year ends and the next begins. Can someone who's better at editing than me fix this, perhaps by putting a line across the page after each year? GizmoDude (talk) 19:11, 7 April 2016 (UTC)
This one slipped under the transcripting radar. I may do it. --Quicksilver (talk) 20:52, 17 August 2013 (UTC)
- Do not talk about radars, just do it. The transcript is done right now, but the explain section still does need a big radar!--Dgbrt (talk) 20:20, 18 August 2013 (UTC)
Find the song! I have no idea so far but the repeating phrase "Social security trust fund exhausted" should match a refrain.--Dgbrt (talk) 20:20, 18 August 2013 (UTC)
They now have the dogs driving cars... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWAK0J8Uhzk Let's not wait for 2053.173.245.54.90 21:01, 20 March 2014 (UTC)
Out of curiosity (I'm new to the standards of explainxkcd), are out of date pages considered incomplete? Or is it up to editors to chose when to update a pages explination. I would assume the former, except that would make maintaining the pages significantly more difficult. Also, referencing the Linux takes over. Since Android is now a part of the libux kernel,should thia be changed? It would definently put linux over the 50% mark. Mrmakeit (talk) 05:03, 4 April 2014 (UTC)
- Pages can not become out of date, as they refrence the meening of the comic at the time of creation. 108.162.216.209 15:24, 10 December 2014 (UTC)
I would change the 2nd paragraph to say that the entirety of the search results are a super long set-up and "All your base..." is the punch-line. Smperron (talk) 08:46, 10 November 2014 (UTC)
I would correct the entry in 2014 that says that the Taliban are the organisation responsible for the September 11th attacks. The more accurate explanation would be that The US believed Al Qaeda (the real organisation responsible) were hiding out in Afghanistan and that defeating the Taliban, and bringing stability to the country was an important stepping stone towards finding Osama Bin Laden. Of course we now know he was in Pakistan all along, but still that was the original rationale for invading Afghanistan.--141.101.98.192 15:27, 15 December 2014 (UTC)
This further details stuff is wrong about the comic. The lines are just random answers to Google searches. There is no explanation. I move to remove this table, or convert it into links or summaries of the articles in the links. This sucks. It is good enough as it is now without the table (as the table is random and the explanations on the table are incorrect. 108.162.216.209 22:12, 15 December 2014 (UTC)
- Let's get to work on the table then. I'm adding suitable references to incomplete sections to aid as jumping off points, from where further expansion can be done on a case-by-case basis. Can you provide some inspiration as to which explanations are most egregiously in need of correction? Pmw57 (talk) 01:44, 8 January 2015 (UTC)
As of 2014 I have noticed that a lot of US sites are moving from html to closed sources such as Adobe so the quote: "The prediction about GNU/Linux Operating Systems is ambiguous" is now fighting through government agencies. Users of Linux trying to access the volcano archive (once supplied by listserv using linux) now have to get access via Windows machines. This has to be the saddest computing news in a long time. Weatherlawyer (talk) 08:19, 4 January 2015 (UTC)
“The prediction about GNU/Linux Operating Systems is ambiguous, as Android (based on Linux) constitutes nearly 50% of the mobile OS market” — GNU/Linux refers to an operating system consisting of the GNU userland toolchain over the Linux kernel. Android is based on Linux but not GNU, therefore, it is irrelevant in GNU/Linux context. 108.162.230.107 11:18, 23 January 2015 (UTC)
Can we change this to Incomplete explanation of the month? Foldark (talk) 22:03, 28 March 2015 (UTC)
2145:War... War never changes (the Great War happens) 173.245.54.252 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
Is it just my reading, or does it say "ACHEIVE" instead of "ACHIEVE" where it says something about 192 UN member nations achieving millennium development goals in the comic? (It's under 2015.) --172.68.55.70 21:45, 10 November 2016 (UTC)
- No, it reads like this for me too. (Even on the original comic page, where I'd expect it to have been long fixed already.) --172.68.11.87 19:35, 11 November 2016 (UTC)
Some of these predictions seem very realistic. 162.158.59.172 00:22, 25 December 2016 (UTC) Jawa457
I am not sure if this needs to be added or not since it was not happening when the comic was produced and it is not the government doing it but a private tech company microchipping its employees in 2017 Google results since I do not know which news articles will disappear over time. 162.158.62.231 12:03, 17 August 2017 (UTC)
I think we can delete incomplete tag. -- -- 1337-PI (talk) 04:21, 26 February 2021 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
I feel it would have been funny, if a bit confusing, if the first few years numbers after 2037/2038 started referring to, e.g. 1970, 1971, before suddenly "Year 2038 bug finally exterminated". You know it's gonna happen... at least to some poor schmucks somewhere in the world.--Twisted Code (talk) 12:52, 22 November 2022 (UTC)
- The link is bad
Here's a working one. 162.158.93.27 14:57, 22 December 2018 (UTC)
How do I add an Incomplete tag to the top? It's now 2024 so more stuff needs to be added. -- Danger Kitty (talk) 20:18, 1 February 2024 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
- You just need the {{incomplete}} template.
- e.g.
{{incomplete|This page will need updating to account for facts known up until the start of 2024}}, but you might instead prefer a version that follows a comment format more ofCreated by THE 2024 EQUIVALENT OF A BOT - Needs to be updated to the current year. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.to blend in with the 'starter' version currently used and then tweaked... 172.70.90.92 21:12, 1 February 2024 (UTC)
