The future is certainly not what it used to be. A traveling exhibit at the Athens County Historical Society and Museum, 65 N. Court St., displays views of the future from the past 150 years.
The exhibit, Yesterday's Tomorrows: Past Visions of the American Future
is on display Oct. 6 to Nov. 1. The display is a part of the Smithsonian Institution and will visit eight cities in Ohio this year.
Athens is the only city in southeastern Ohio on the tour. The exhibit is part of the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program, which brings Smithsonian exhibits to smaller museums that could not normally get them, said Mimi Smith, an Athens County Historical Society trustee.
Some (predictions) were so bizarre so comical she said. They thought we would be riding around on spaceships. Some are true
some are plain funny.
Some pictures, including one in the Dec. 5, 1901, issue of Life magazine of a man with mechanical wings on his back who had to fly home because the airship broke down
are comical. Others, including visions of urban development with massive buildings stretching into the sky, look as though they were created last year, not in the 1930s.
The pictures and articles come mostly from reputable sources, such as Life, Popular Mechanics and Time magazines. Others come from events such as the World's Fair.
(The predictions are) nothing like it really is now
said Ashley Ranck, a 14-year-old Athens High School freshman who visited the display.
One of the predictions not yet realized was a picture of a housewife hosing down her house, because in the year 2000, all houses would be completely waterproof and make cleaning easy, according to Popular Mechanics.
Smith said bringing a Smithsonian exhibit to Athens is not only interesting to people, but is good for the museum.
I think it's a really good thing to have a Smithsonian exhibit in a smaller museum
said Steve Wolverton, an anthropology professor at Northern Kentucky University. It's the most important museum in the country
and you have it here on Court Street.
