Look around. The future is here.

Almost a century ago, visionary thinkers imagined what life might look like in 2025. Some of their guesses were wildly off the mark, while others turned out surprisingly close to reality.

Join us as we peek into the 1925 crystal ball.

Beauty is skin deep

American psychologist Albert E. Wiggam had a bleak outlook, predicting that less attractive, ordinary people were reproducing more than their beautiful, intelligent counterparts.

He expressed concern at a Brooklyn gathering, stating, “If we continue on this mistaken path, American beauty will surely diminish, and come 2025, there may be no pretty girl left.” He then looked at his audience and noted, “However, this trend isn’t obvious yet, especially here in Brooklyn.”

Advanced aging

According to advancements in science, people might live up to 150 years.

Sir Ronald Ross, a British physician awarded the Nobel Prize for his malaria research in 1902, claimed in a speech in London that life expectancy could keep rising thanks to scientific breakthroughs.

He stated, “This remarkable progress won’t cease. A prominent scientist at the Pasteur Institute in Paris believes that humans may live to 150 in a century. Why wouldn’t that be plausible?”

“A well-known American doctor even hinted that we might achieve immortality. The possibilities of scientific exploration are endless, and who knows how long we could live if we could eliminate germs?”

Rise of the superpowers

H.G. Wells, the famous English author of works like “The Time Machine” and “The War of the Worlds,” envisioned a new world hierarchy for 2025.

While addressing guests at the Hotel Cecil in London, Wells predicted a world dominated by large groups of people rather than individual nations.

“In a hundred years, the world will not feature many nations, but rather three major blocs: the United States, a United States of Europe, and China,” he proclaimed.

A global government

Irish physicist and chemist E.E. Fournier d’Albe envisioned a perfect society for those alive in 2025.

In his 1925 book “Quo Vadimus? Some Glimpses of the Future,” he suggested several ideas.

∎ “The world will operate under a single government, with one language that is universally recognized and spoken. While there will still be various races and possibly allied nations, travel and trade will be unrestricted, and challenges will be addressed collaboratively by all of mankind.”

∎ “Advancements in medicine and surgery will have progressed to the point where most age-related diseases and ailments will be eradicated. Life will be lived at peak efficiency until it gracefully concludes, experienced like a sunset, without pain or hesitation. Illness will not lead to death, and most injuries will be curable.”

∎ “Innovative materials will be developed that blend the warmth of fur with the softness of silk and the durability of linen. Clothing will be so light that multiple outfits can fit in a handbag, and changing attire will be as easy as removing a raincoat.”

The future of yesterday

Archibald M. Low, a British scientist, imagined the 21st century filled with advancements like TV machines, breakfast tubes, automatic sleeping beds, wireless banking, moving sidewalks, and one-piece suits made from synthetic felt.

Here are some of Low’s predictions from his 1925 book “The Future.”

∎ Waking up on time: “An intriguing service will include a radio alarm clock, sending signals on various frequencies between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. each morning. Setting the alarm to catch a specific signal will prevent oversleeping. Clocks in homes and public spaces, as well as watches, will be synchronized by daily signals, ensuring everyone knows the correct time instead of dealing with discrepancies in a small area.”

∎ Women in science: “With their rapid advancements, women will compete equally with men across scientific fields, leading to faster developments in health, comfort, and cognitive efficiency. Many future breakthroughs may be attributed entirely to women’s contributions.”

— commonly referred to as ‘fair’ — a label that they will reject in times of true equality.

∎ The airport of the future: “Passengers will enter a cozy and nicely decorated lounge located in the heart of the city. An elevator will transport them to the rooftop, where they can step right onto a spacious and genuinely comfortable airplane cabin. There will be no jolting over bumpy runways; instead, the aircraft will be positioned on a turntable and launched into the sky via catapults, cruising through the atmosphere at speeds exceeding 300 miles per hour.”

A taste of the tropics

Professor Lowell J. Reed analyzed the figures. The forecast was not promising.

The instructor at Johns Hopkins University cautioned that the United States would encounter a food crisis in a century.

He had estimated that the U.S. population would swell to 200 million by 2025. It turns out he slightly underestimated; the current figure is about 345 million, as opposed to just 115 million in 1925.

Reed indicated that the nation would need to uncover new food sources to sustain all those people.

“This new food supply must be either sourced from the tropics or created through processes that manufacture artificial food from organic materials,” Reed stated during a conference in Williamstown, Massachusetts. “The latter would only be feasible if the cost of chemical procedures were significantly lowered.”

He would likely be relieved to see that today’s grocery stores are filled with tropical fruits and a variety of processed foods.

New York in 2025

Gaze upon the splendor of futuristic Manhattan.

In 1925, H. Winfield Secor, associate editor at Science and Invention magazine, commissioned artist Ray Fardell to depict “the likely silhouette of New York’s skyline in the year 2025.”

Secor envisioned that the skyscrapers of the 21st century would soar even higher, potentially double the height of the Woolworth Building, which stood at 792 feet and was the tallest building in the world at that time.

The skies over New York would be crowded with airplanes, airships, and other flying machines. Commuters would traverse at least 100 miles to the city utilizing compact and affordable “air flivvers.” Additionally, New York would provide local and long-distance subway systems.

Finally, Secor foresaw that the iconic city would feature streets stacked in threes or fours to accommodate the substantial traffic.

“The lower level of future streets will be reserved for trucks, while the level above will be for lighter vehicles like cars,” Secor described. “The sidewalks, potentially with moving parts in the next couple of decades, will likely be built elevated above the street level and incorporated within arcades of buildings.”

“This structure will not only shelter pedestrians overhead, protecting them from rain and snow, but also enhance retail display opportunities for storefronts.”

The city by the bay

Hold on tight, New York. Armenian historian Rowell Stratian predicted that by 2025, San Francisco would ascend to become the greatest city in the world.

He argued that as Asian nations grew in influence, the Pacific Ocean would surpass the Atlantic as the leading trade sea, relegating New York to a secondary role behind San Francisco and Oakland, California.

“San Francisco will be the main port of the greatest ocean,” Stratian asserted. “It will connect directly with two-thirds of the global population.”

He estimated that the Bay Area’s population would soar to at least 15 million by 2025, though it’s actually closer to 7.7 million today.

Divine inspiration

Dr. A.R. Wentz, a professor at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, made some bold predictions for 2025:

∎ A replacement for sleep will be discovered. Its primary component will likely be acid sodium phosphate.

∎ Chemistry will be employed to create synthetic foods, primarily derived from nitrogen in the atmosphere.

∎ Individuals will communicate using a handheld device that allows them to see and hear each other without being in the same room.

∎ Global peace, a single world currency, and unrestricted trade will be a reality.

Great expectations

The Weekly Scotsman, a newspaper from Edinburgh, made several predictions:

∎ “Books published in 2025 will probably feature pages made of nickel, so light and thin that a single volume could contain 30,000 pages, and these pages will be more flexible and durable than traditional paper.”

∎ “Household chores will be drastically reduced thanks to a plethora of electrical devices, including those we have today, from opening doors to preparing meals – even cooking a sophisticated six-course dinner automatically.”

∎ “In industry, the transformation will be equally groundbreaking. Where we currently need dozens of machines, one will suffice in the future. As Mr. [Thomas] Edison posited, a century from now, we shall be able to produce fabric, thread, buttons, and more with a single device.”

As a machine processes fabric, it seamlessly generates complete suits, fully stitched and neatly folded, ready for shipping.

Ending Poverty

If society puts in a dedicated effort, we could eliminate poverty by the year 2025.

Sophie Irene Loeb, who presides over the Child Welfare Committee of America, advocated for improved widow pensions and child welfare legislation as vital steps toward this objective. After we successfully tackle juvenile poverty, our focus should shift to adult poverty.

“No child should live in poverty in this country, and every capable child should be in the comfort of their home,” Loeb expressed. “Children—who represent our future—deserve opportunities, not mere charity.”

Humorous Remarks from 1925

∎ “Horse-drawn carriages are fading from our streets while donkey-driven cars will still prevail a century from now.”

∎ “The persistent chaos, insanity, and wickedness of our time will certainly provide a captivating historical tale. However, future generations may be so overwhelmed by their own absurdities that they won’t give much thought to ours in 2025.”

∎ “Now a scientist posits that there will be nothing amusing in 100 years. I guess that suggests a century from now there won’t be any bowlegged girls in short skirts or lanky guys in golf uniforms.”

∎ “Those worrying about global overpopulation in a hundred years might be underestimating how much moonshine people can produce.”

∎ They’re currently marking the centennial of the detachable collar’s invention. Based on the growing trend of divorce, a century from now, they will likely celebrate the creation of the detachable marriage bond.”

A Touch of Humor

In 1925, The Lassen Advocate, a newspaper based in Susanville, California, shared this joke:

It was 2025, and the United States had just elected its first female president.

“Aren’t you worried your domestic life will suffer?” the Curious Reporter asked her husband.

“My only regret,” he lamented, “is that I can only offer one wife to my country.”

For Better or For Verse

And now, we present this gem.

A student named Vivian Gaulke, in eighth grade at Franklin School in Wausau, Wisconsin, composed this poem as a class assignment in 1925.

We hope she earned top marks.

THE WORLD IN 2025

What will the world be like a century from now?

I’ve glimpsed it through crystal-clear glass.

The astonishing feats humanity will achieve

In the next hundred years to come.

Radios will be mere toys one day.

Movies will no longer exist.

If people were able to view the future,

They’d grieve for the pleasures they missed.

In a century’s time, airplanes and such

Will be accessible to even the poorest.

Science will laugh at them, just like we scoff

At the old-fashioned carriage, and they’ll dream up new marvels.

People then will know what lies on Mars.

They’ll send messages to the moon.

Our modern cars will be a source of amusement for them.

They’ll chuckle at our lofty hot air balloons.

There will be miraculous machines, remedies, and herbs,

That can cure nearly every ailment.

There will be fantastic foods—and drinks galore,

That will surpass today’s coffee and tea.

In the future, the industrious housewife

Will have little to do but relax.

Her tasks will be completed in moments,

With just the push of a button to act.

The men in factories won’t toil as they do now.

They’ll merely oversee the machines.

When they reflect on the labor of men today,

They’ll wonder why we were so “naïve.”

This is the vision I glimpse through my crystal-clear glass

Of the old world a century from now.

But I hope I won’t be around then

For the monotony would bring me to tears.