They were ahead of their time. Cartoon week. A JuicyDeath1025 event

One reason I'm such a good smart ass is cause I use my smarts and hang around smarter people. ;-)

One such smart person clued me in on this oddity from long ago. The Convair 118 only flew on time, crash landing on its maiden voyage.

As you can see in my reply to CometHunter, newer, better models, are constantly being developed. Still, they are well out of reach for the average person.

If you're looking for something for quick hops, and don't mind the elements, your best bet is an ultralight helicopter.

Two reasons they aren't as common as you think. First is the infrastructure. At this time, the number if fly in communities is limited and general airports aren't always convenient for commuters. Second is the economy. The cost of the current models is high. You'll see the highways full of Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Ferrari, and such before you'll see the car planes.

On the flip side, there are the ultralights, but those are more for the hobbyist than actual commuters. Even an ultralight helicopter has its problems preventing it from being practical, parking being the big bugaboo. Then, in areas like mine, in the snowbelt, they are as practical as riding a motorcycle in a blizzard. High winds and exposure to the elements make them impractical for everyday use.

But it's not being ignored.

I was sticking to cartoon TV series as it's that theme this week.

I've read 1984, as well as Animal Farm. That last one when I was 11. I've also read other books along the "Big Brother Is Watching You" theme. Heinlien touches on it in several books, and has had a few things come true. And fortunately. Some that have not: yet. Cell phones, microwave ovens, and nuclear power plants as well as an advanced version of solar panels.

But that's literature. In Cartoons, the Jetsons predicted video calls 2 or 3 years before AT&T announced it. At&T lost 30 years of revenue when they finally did launch it, only to have the internet take it away from them.

The people movers on the Jetsons? You see those at the airport, or, at least the big ones.

Big brother, though, has been watching us all along. Who do you think was upset about the break up of AT&T? Try some of our legal entities. Made their job a lot harder to do.

Example: even table top TVs were big and bulky in 1962. But extrapolate how small the radio had shrunk since the invention of the transistor. Transistors did cause the TV to shrink, but it took decades to exchange the CRT with an LED screen. They knew something would come about. They didn't know what.

In 1966, Heinlein predicted test tube babies. Invitro fertilization was still a few years away.

Star Trek? Yes, that show was a harbinger of a few things as well as a reflection on our society and Humanity. The idea for the cell phone came from the communicators. Remote monitoring in hospitals, including the overhead readouts came from the sick bay. Warp drive? NASA has already announced they are close. It may not be practical to get us to Mars, but possibly Alpha Centuri.

We all make predictions. Some do it on "gut instinct" that is really more a subconscious manner of extrapolating known data to the next level.

Or we just pull shit out of out asses.

And when we pull shit out of our asses, it inspires some to say, "You know, that might just be possible if we..."

next thing ya know, someone's saying. "Hold my beer and watch this"

So, I'm-a strap the foam airplane's wings onto my back and jump off the barn and start-a flyin'. IT'LL BE COOL!

Oh, you've met my brother.

That is something my brother would have attempted. Only, IIRC the wings were from a cardboard box and held on with clothesline.

Thanks. I read a lot of sci-fi, do I notice these things.

Good catch

Way to knock this one out the park Jetsons!

Get a hold of yourself Asimo...

I think he did. There was gear grease all over his charging station

TMI...

First time seeing rosey