2022: People will do anything to get what they need!

“It’s the year 2022… People are still the same. They’ll do anything to get what they need. And they need SOYLENT GREEN.” 1976 movie trailer.

Soylent Green, MGM’s 1973 science fiction thriller, is set in the distant year 2022, when unchecked population growth, global warming, and infrastucture decay make New York City — and the world — nearly unliveable, except for the wealthy few who monpolize resources. Sound familiar?

The movie is loosely based on Harry Harrison‘s 1966 novel Make Room! Make Room!, set in 1999.

More:

“Soylent Green predicted a grim 2022. What did the dystopian movie get right?” Amanda Kooser, CNET

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Jules Verne’s Space Cannon

Jules Verne’s space cannon was the starting gun in our space travel race. A National Geographic video.

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Where’s My Flying Car?

Are flying cars still science fiction? A National Geographic video.

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Thank You, Dr. Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a tale of horror, but it also may have inspired a medical device keeping millions of people alive.

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What do space aliens look like?

Little Green Men? How did we get our concepts of extraterrestrials? A Vox video by Dion Lee.

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Ted Cruz and the Space Pirates!

Shiver me timbers, matey! Senator Ted Cruz says we need a Space Force to protect us from space pirates:

“Since the ancient Greeks first put to sea, nations have recognized the necessity of naval forces and maintaining a superior capability to protect waterborne travel and commerce from bad actors. Pirates threaten the open seas, and the same is possible in space. In this same way, I believe we too must now recognize the necessity of a Space Force to defend the nation and to protect space commerce and civil space exploration.”

The CBO says the initial bill to launch the Trump Space Force is $2 billion of your tax dollars, but independent estimates rocket start-up costs closer to $5 billion. Maybe we could defray the expense by licencing the film rights to Netflix. After all, the Cruz space pirate plot treatment is sure getting lots of buzz on Twitter.

More:

“Cruz warns ‘Space Force’ needed to prevent space pirates,” Owen Daugherty, The Hill

“Space Genius Ted Cruz Is Super Worried About Space Pirates Stealing our Space Booty,”
Jason Torchinsky, Foxtrot Alpha

“US Senator Ted Cruz irked by ‘space pirate’ ridicule,” BBC News

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Image: (“Ted Cruz & the Space Pirates, after Louis S. Glanzman”) by Mike Licht.  Download copies here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com.

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Commuting By Gyrocar

” … the gyroscopes would be initially powered by flywheels wound-up in the morning, and would continue to be powered throughout the day from energy supplied by solar panels mounted on the roofs of the cars. pods are stilted on expandable legs that can both contract and enlarge depending on the context, meaning they can pass under bridges and vehicular overpasses with ease. inside, passengers sit in rows just like they would on a subway or bus, or — alternatively — ride-in-style inside luxurious pods that include comfortable couches and TV sets.”

–” gyroscopic public transportation: your future commute?” designboom

An amusing, elaborate fantasy. Much more fun than those Chinese straddling buses.

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The Empire Strikes Back, 1950

“Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,” 1950 premake by Ivan Guerrero.

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Flying into Washington, DC

Space tourism is a growth industry. Welcome, intergalactic tourists.

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Gingrich Battles in Gulf Coast and Lunar Primaries

Disgraced former Speaker Newt Gingrich is vying for Intergalactic Republican Supremacy in Tuesday’s primary battle for Truth, Justice, Adultery and the American Way. “America has a destiny in space,” Mr. Gingrich bravely told a crowd of aerospace engineers at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. No odds on what he dealt out to casino workers in Biloxi.