Discussion of contemporary and historical attempts at postulating the future. Thu, 14 May 2026 23:04:23 +0000 Thu, 14 May 2026 23:04:23 +0000 What If Machine http://whatifmachine.org/forums/futurology.72/ Mon, 18 Sep 2017 14:59:55 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/status-update.103/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/status-update.103/ invalid@example.com (SpanishSpy) SpanishSpy STATUS UPDATE
AN ORIGINAL STORY BY SPANISHSPY

His daughter, now seventeen, was absolutely enthralled in the new iPhone 24. If Tom were a parent a generation earlier, he would lambast how long she spent on it; he grew up in a time when newspapers were in their dying throes, and his parents read them. Now, there were tablets at the morning table in the vast majority of American households and nobody cared much. ...

Status Update]]> 3 Tue, 15 Aug 2017 12:41:53 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/nucleon-retrofuturism-setting.94/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/nucleon-retrofuturism-setting.94/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force Fallout, but it is intended to be more realistic.

Premise

The setting is 1990, give or take a decade. Compared to our timeline there is far more use and acceptance of nuclear technology and peaceful applications of Our Friend the Atom (nuclear energy was once Disney material). The...

Nucleon (Retrofuturism Setting)]]> 2 Tue, 25 Jul 2017 00:31:22 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/more-equitable-water-power-distribution-in-the-american-west.86/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/more-equitable-water-power-distribution-in-the-american-west.86/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force Colorado River Compact (more than Nevada and Arizona combined), and it also receives more power from Hoover Dam than Nevada and Arizona combined. This is despite the...

More Equitable Water/Power Distribution in the American West?]]> 1 Thu, 22 Jun 2017 02:57:37 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/the-chase-kirchner-aerodromic-railroad-1894.61/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/the-chase-kirchner-aerodromic-railroad-1894.61/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force the May 5, 1894 issue of Scientific American. The article claims the train would be able to achieve speeds of 125 to 150 miles per hour but would have difficulty turning or going uphill. Photos are from the article and this...

The Chase-Kirchner Aerodromic Railroad (1894)]]>