The Future Telephone Prediction

The Tacoma News Tribune, April 11, 1953. There'll Be No Escape in Future From Telephones PASADENA. — A — The telephone of the future? Mark R. Sullivan, San Francisco, president and director of the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co., said in an address Thursday night: “Just what form the future telephone will take is, of course, pure speculation. Here is my prophecy: “In its final development, the telephone will be carried about by the individual, perhaps as we carry a watch today. It probably will require no dial or equivalent, and I think the users will be able to see each other, if they want, as they talk. “Who knows but what it may actually translate from one language to another?”

A newspaper clipping from 1953 predicts that future telephones will be portable, allow users to see each other, and translate languages. The joke is that this supposedly futuristic prophecy describes modern smartphones and video calls almost exactly, making the prediction feel comically accurate. EN: A newspaper clipping from 1953 predicts that future telephones will be portable, allow users to see each other, and translate languages. The joke is that this supposedly futuristic prophecy describes modern smartphones and video calls almost exactly, making the prediction feel comically accurate.

• @gentoomemes / 2881 2023-03-08