The sci-fi technology of 2013 was the 3-D printer, something so fanciful that it rarely came up in actual science fiction. Like, seriously, who in their right mind would cook up an idea as bonkers as a printer that could produce actual 3-D models and not just models but, conceivably, weapons, food, clothing? For cheap-as-free (or as cheap as raw materials)? Ridiculous! And yet, it is so. Around the same time came some major breakthroughs in artificial foods, with the first hamburger grown in a lab the jury's out on how it tastes alongside steaks that a veggie could have no moral qualms about tucking into. This year saw the two of them come together, not unlike that magical microwave from The Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy film. The so-called Foodini machine lets you print everything from edible burgers to pizza to chocolate. You pop the ingredients in the top of the machine in little silve capsules, and out come your fully-fledged meals. It's kind of amazing, and will apparently begin mass manufacturing in the second half of 2015.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
