10 Centuries-Old Predictions That Actually Came True

Incredible inventions and future prophecies that seemed totally unbelievable at the time.

Science fiction has long been used as a means to explore what the world may be like in the distant future, or as allegory of what it is like today. The genre came into popularity in the closing decades of the 1800s, with legendary authors such as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. Remarkably, many of these works of science fiction have since proven themselves to be eerily prophetic. In fact, some have observed that the great works of science fiction may have proven to be a major influence on some of the biggest scientific discoveries since their publication. While many of these predictions may have been based off early ideas or concepts, there have been a few that seemed to miraculously come from the sole mind of the author. Arthur C. Clarke was notoriously fascinated with futurism, even establishing three laws of prediction. The third of these laws, and the one most relevant to this article, is that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." This article takes a look at 10 predictions from over a century ago, that actually came true. From inventions that eventually came to be, to prophesies of what society may one day be like, each of these entries are uncannily accurate in their detail.
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Contributor

Tom Butler hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.