The terrible predictions of tragedies that eventually came true

Today marks the 109th anniversary of the fateful collapse of the Titanic. In 1912, the British liner became the largest passenger ship in the world and began operating with its first (and last) voyage from Southampton with the intention of reaching New York.

But as we all know, the ship collided with an iceberg on the way to one of the worst naval tragedies in history which resulted in 1,496 victims.

Movies, television, novels and reports have told us everything that happened on that night of April 14, 1912, but there was one person who told it before it happened.

This is Morgan Robertson, an American writer who on August 16, 1989 published “The Shipwreck of the Titan”, a story in which he tells how an ocean liner that was going from New York to Southampton was wrecked after hitting an iceberg .

Its text also specifies the death of thousands of people because there are not enough resources to save the whole world. Coincidence with what happened 14 years later it is even scary.

Pearl Harbor

Robertson’s “powers” ​​of divination extend beyond the Titanic. Years later, he published a short story called “Beyond the Specter” in which he explained how the Japanese military attacked US bases, starting a war between the two countries.

The precision with which he recounts events (he speaks of attacks with flying machines while the planes were still in the creation phase) is very similar to what happened at the base at Pearl Harbor. 27 years later (1941).

First World War

One of the best-known predictions in history was that of banker Ivan Bloch, who in the 19th century assembled a group of experts specializing in military conflicts between countries to analyze the situation they were experiencing at the time. and where it could lead.

From this association was born a study describing some of the events that would occur during World War I, in particular the use of weapons and gadgets that did not even exist.

Credit card

We leave the conflicts of war for a moment to highlight the futuristic vision of Edward Bellamy, an American author who in 1887 published a utopian novel titled “Looking Backward” which is set in 2000 and imagines that citizens are given a card. the state through which they can obtain goods and services.

It works very similar to credit cards except that the money we use is private and does not belong to the state.

Illustrator artists

Various artists have predicted inventions or technologies that we use today through their designs. For example, in 1912, the publisher of “Modern Electrics” magazine Hugo Gernsback devised a device called a “telephot” whose functionality was to make long distance calls while you could see your caller.

Something that over the years has come true thanks to video calls, a tool that we used beautifully last year.

In the same vein, in 1958, futuristic illustrator Arthur Radebaugh published an image in which he presented what the classes of the future looked like. Teachers would not need to go to class to teach since their lessons were broadcast remotely and students received them via electronic devices. To those who had to do online classes it will look like something.

Marc Mestres – La Vanguardia.

GML