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Diddly
March 8, 2013, 4:01am Report to Moderator Report to Moderator

Noble
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IO9 had an article today listing "20 Lies Back to the Future II Told Us Besides The Hoverboard" :  http://io9.com/5989200/20-lies-back-to-the-future-ii-told-us-besides-the-hoverboard

Ironically, I'd call this article "16 Things Back to the Future II Almost Got Right, and 3 Things it Didn't".  Here then is my comments to the article:

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1 ) Flying Cars
Obviously, it isn't just Doc's DeLorean that can fly. When Doc and Marty arrive at the future, they pop in going the wrong way on a highway — a highway at about 50 feet above the ground, complete with hovering signs and street lamps (although what the hell they're supposed to be illuminating is unknown, because there's obviously no street). Since there are plenty of cars on the ground of 2015 Hill Valley, I'm not sure if every car in the future could fly, but since absolutely 0% of the cars in 2013 can fly, it's kind of a moot point.

NOT 0%.  I submit the Terrafugia.  http://www.terrafugia.com/


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2 ) Mr. Fusion
Of all the inventions in Back to the Future II, Mr. Fusion would certainly have been the most useful. The time Home Energy Reactor transforms garbage — any garbage, apparently — into power via nuclear fusion. A clean, practically limitless source of energy that also gets rid of our trash? Back to the Future II, you are cruel.

Yeah, we don't have garbage powered fusion.  But we do have urine powered batteries.  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/08/0818_050818_urinebattery.html

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3 ) Alpha-Rhythm Generator
Since Marty was with his girlfriend Jennifer when Doc picked him up to go to 2015, Jennifer got to tag along. And then she started asking questions. And then Doc zapped her with an sleep-inducing Alpha-Rhythm Generator, instantly rendering her unconscious. Since this is pretty much a Pocket Date Rape Kit, it's probably for the best it doesn't exist.

There are countless Alpha-Rhythm apps for iOS and Android, but if you want to talk Pocket Date Rape kit, don't Roofies beat a bulky powered device?

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4 ) The Weather Service
Apparently the weather is on a strict schedule in 2015; Doc knows the exact time the pouring rain he and Marty arrive in will stop, thanks to the Weather Service, presumably a government agency that takes care of such things. Something tells me if the actual government were in charge of the weather, it would still be exactly as chaotic as it is now.

Yeah, this one seems out to lunch.  The only thing I can imagine is if scientists discover a way to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in rain drops, so "schedule" carbon cleaning rainfalls to counter global warming.

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5 ) Rejuvenation Centers
I'm sure there are plenty of places calling themselves rejuvenation centers in 2013, but I bet they're mainly spas that offer massages and facials and such. The Rejuvenation Center Doc went to de-aged him 30 years, enough that he had to wear a rubber prosthetic when he picked up Marty so he wouldn't be baffled at Doc's newfound youth. This seems somewhat more useful than a massage.

As was clear in the movie, Doc was swindled.  We have PLENTY of beauty scams that promise to take years off your face.


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6 ) Power Shoelaces
Since Marty needs to imitate his son to prevent him from ending up in jail, he has to dress like him, and this includes a pair of Nike Air Mags whose laces automatically constrict, essentially tying themselves for the wearer. Not only do we not have these, but Nike actually released replica Air Mags in 2011 with non-functional power laces. If the proceeds hadn't gone to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, it would have been a major private move.

Actually, we DO have powered laces today.  http://hackaday.com/2010/07/05/power-laces-take-us-5-years-into-the-future/

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7 ) Self-Adjusting, Self-Drying Jackets
The other part of Marty's disguise? A jacket that adjusts to fit its wearer's body with the touch of a button. Obviously, it would almost certainly be more cost efficient to just buy clothes that fit, but the self-drying feature — which activated after Marty jumps in the town square's little lake — would be pretty groovy.

That's true, we don't have jackets that adjust to the wearer's size.  But we do have dresses that adjust to the wearer's mood.  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/04/05/intimacy-dress-transparent-aroused_n_1405917.html

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8 ) The U.S. Mail Fax Service
Like so many films of the ‘80s that tried to peek into the future, BttF2 was convinced of the eternal viability of fax machines — to the point that even public mailbox have fax machines. For the faxes you need to send on the go!

FAX machines just won't die.  And while you can't fax from a mailbox, you can fax from Staples, Kinkos, even corner stores.  You can even fax from your smart phone... so who needs it in mailboxes?


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9 ) Gas Robots
In Bttf2, when you get your flying car filled up, a hovering robot actually fills the tank for you and then processes your transaction. In reality, not only do we not have robot workers pumping gas, he don't have human workers pumping gas either. We have to do it ourselves. That sucks.

We don't have robots fuelling your cars, but we do have robots driving cars.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_driverless_car


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10 ) Holographic Movie Theaters
Despite the fairly recent surge of popularity for 3D movies, we still don't have genuinely holographic movies like Jaws XIV. We also don't have holographic ads for movies, like the giant, 3D, incredibly obviously computer-generated shark that launches itself from the cinema marquee to chomp/promote itself to Marty. I'm more sad about the ads, personally.

We don't have holographic projectors, true.  But we do have holograms on our money and credit cards.


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11 ) Pepsi Perfect
In the ‘80s themed diner Marty visits, he orders a Pepsi, and the diner automatically gives him a Pesi Perfect. I have no idea what makes Pepsi Perfect different from other Pepsi products other than its awesome container, but I'd say if there's one item on this list that might actually happen by 2015, Pepsi Perfect is it.

As the man says, it may still happen.  Pepsi would be wasting a great marketing opportunity to not have such a product for 2015.

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12 ) Suspended Animation Kennels
At one point, Doc mentions he left his dog Einstein in a suspended animation kennel. As a pet owner who is emotionally traumatized whenever I have to board my pet, I really, really wish these things were real.

It's true, we don't have these.  Nor is there any indication of something like it soon.

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13 ) Remote Hovering News Cameras
When Griff and his hooligans buddies are being led away from the courthouse they've wrecked by the police, a hovering news camera is instantly on the scene. It might not be a big deal for most people, but I imagine CNN and the other 24-hour news stations would kill for someone to invent these things.

Actually, there ARE drone cameras right now.  http://www.draganfly.com/uav-helicopter/draganflyer-x6/  Nowhere in the movie does it state it had to be an autonomous hovering camera.


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14 ) Mobile Trashcans
When Doc needs to angrily throw the sports almanac away, a small trash can happily scoots by for him to conveniently put it in. Now, I'm pretty sure this trash can didn't know Doc needed it — that would take a great deal of AI that I'm pretty sure even the movie couldn't imagine — so I think these trash cans just wander around. How that's more useful than a stationary trash can that people know where to find, I don't know, but either way we still don't have them.

No robot trashcans, but we do have robot vacuum cleaners that'll clean your floors.


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15 ) The Scenery Channel
This is the channel on the projected TV in future Marty's house, which simply displays a landscape. Honestly, since pretty much all TV providers have free music channels, I'm a little surprised no one's thought to include this as a feature. It's be better than watching E!, at least.

It's not scenery, but how about the tv fireplace?  http://netflix-reviews.net/post/38311037678/fireplace-for-your-home-o-review  

Okay, if it has to be scenery, why settle for a 2D image?  Here's the 3D scenery "window" from WinScape.  http://www.popsci.com/diy/arti.....tever-you-want-it-be


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16 ) Chiropractic Hoverbelts
When Grandpa McFly arrives at Future Marty's house, he's thrown his back out. The solution? Some kind of belt — that attaches to leg cuffs — which floats and carries George McFly upside down. I'm not really sure of the science of how this works, but maybe 2015 knows something we don't.

Clearly this uses hoverboard tech, which the article already set aside.  So I don't think it should count.

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17 ) Retractable Indoor Garden Center
Whenever a McFly wants a banana, he or she just reaches up and grabs one, like our primate ancestors might have. Of course, our primate ancestors were grabbing things out of trees, and the McFlys are grabbing them from their Indoor Garden Center, which comes down from the ceiling, and provides a variety of fruits and vegetables right of the vine/tree/whatever. Someone seriously needs to get around to inventing this, stat.

Indoor gardens don't exist?  Or is it the retractable container that's somehow unattainable?  All you need is a hydroponics garden on some kind of lifting system.  Heck it can even be voice activated.  We HAVE this tech, it's just a useless application of it.

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18 ) Food Hydrators
Besides ceiling bananas, the other item the McFlys have for dinner is a pizza, fresh from the hydrator. Of course, the pizza that Grandma Lorraine puts in the hydrator doesn't look dehydrated, it just looks like a tiny pizza; however, the hydrator both enlarges the pizza and cooks it. With, uh… hydration, I guess.

True.  There's no hydrator.  But it's not that crazy to imagine a device that could re-hydrate materials might be able to control the temperature of the water molecules being injected.

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19 ) Phone Glasses
Despite the prevlance of fax machines, Back to the Future Part II did actually have the foresight to recognize that people in 2015 would carry around small, portable, personal phones. Of course, BttFII thought these phones would also be sunglasses, but I'll still give them an E for effort.

Um, Google Glass?  http://www.google.com/glass/start/

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20 ) The Cubs Will Win a World Series
The big headline on the day Marty arrives in 2015? The Cubs winning the World Series after a 107-year championship drought. Come on, Back to the Future II. Some things are just too ludicrous to ever believe.

Crazier things have happened in Sports.  Like the Leaf's making the playoffs this year.  


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