Just for Fun!
The Jetsons – Futuristic or Reality?
I love the Jetsons, this was one of my favorite shows that would come on after school, when my brain was mush and I could just disappear into my black and white TV world of the 60’s! I’m sure we have all seen at least one episode of the beloved cartoon. Have you ever wondered if our fancy technological way of life was actually predicted somehow? If you have, the answer would be yes! The Jetsons did! Here are just a few of the ways they predicted our future for us. You see, 60’s TV was inspired! George Jetson woke every morning to his talking alarm clock. Sound familiar? Hey Siri! Please wake me up at 7:00am so that I can be ready for the day! Not only can you ask Siri to sound an alarm for you, but you can also choose from hundreds of phone apps out there that make sounds, songs, and messages just to stir you from slumber. They can also require you to take a picture of something in your room, or solve math equations before the alarm will shut off; of course, those are for the heavy sleepers. Speaking of “phone apps”, how about the phones we all carry around with us? The Jetsons blazed the trail like many other fantastic TV shows and stories, with their video-calling theories. For years, the concept of calling somebody and being able to see them while you talk to them has been a fantasy beyond imagination. Now, we all carry a lovely device in our pockets that allows us to do this anytime, anywhere! We can even use our smartwatches! Facetime, Skype, Zoom, and so many other apps have literally become part of everyone’s daily lives, even more so just in this last couple years because of the pandemic. Can you imagine back in “the old days” before internet, when people just had to call their friends on a regular phone? With no video at all? And the phone had a chord attached to a wall!? WHAT??!!!??? And party lines! Who remembers party lines….I DO! And what about Rosy, quick witted and sweet natured housekeeper robot from The Jetsons? Let’s be real, nobody has a robot housekeeper in their home now?? That’s just crazy, right? Wrong! You just call it something different! Its name is Roomba! It can clean your floors and entertain your children and pets for hours. The only thing it doesn’t do is talk back with a witty remark. However, it does occasionally eat a curtain or a shoelace. What happened when the Jetsons needed a check up at the doctor? They swallowed a little camera pod-type thing and it would display x-ray style images from inside the body onto a screen for the doctor to see. That surely doesn’t exist in our current world does it? Yep! It’s called a PillCam, created in 2004 and it’s used to take imaging of the digestive system. We use so many of these new technologies all the time in our everyday life now. The Jetsons were certainly ahead of their time with these imaginative creations. Who knows!? Maybe someday we will be cruising around on antigravity boots and rocket jetpacks! But until then, keep your imagination primed and the creativity flowing! We are always ready for the next big invention!