19th Cent Postcards depicting the year 2000

~A depiction of a "modern" barbershop

It's a slow, un-newsworthy day today and we won't force out a long posting just simply to write for writing sake...  That's what corporate news is for...

We will however use this opportunity to inject a little fun and fascination into A&G.   We thank "KM" for bringing this to our attention care of an article in the Daily Mail UK a week or so ago...  The article was entitled "Bizarre 19th Century postcards reveal how French artists thought we'd be living in 2000"

They were drawn sometime between 1899-1910 and tried to predict what life would be like in Paris in the year 2000. Even if most postcards are inaccurate, they definitely show a level of imagination and fantasy toward the future well, to be honest, we as a society lack today.

 ~ Here an artist humorously envisions people playing croquet under the sea

 ~ Flying firefighters.. there's a concept..

 ~  Tourists taking an underwater tour on a bus - pulled by an enormous blue whale

 ~ A unique 'helicopter'

 ~ If firemen can fly, why not tennis players...

 ~ "Modern" Farming

~ Interesting depiction of what a video phone or "Skype" may look like

 ~ Envisioning electric trains in 2000; note the traditional Chinese passenger outfit

 ~ Electric roller-skates

 ~ A depiction of a military air battle

 ~ Food processed through a machine

 ~ The glowing fireplace is supposed to be uranium

 ~ An accurate prediction of sorts of receiving news at home via airwaves

The very best part of these postcards is that it makes one wax nostalgic to know there was a time that even in depictions and predictions of what the future would be like, it was free of the crass disgust of corporate logos, product placement and the vileness of pushing endless consumption to cure all ills.