Cryogenic in-and-out. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I don't know all the nuances of where the cryogenic freezing industry currently stands -- but I do know that we're not yet at the point where we can freeze and unfreeze people on a whim . They're people, not bottles of Jagermeister. Especially if, like Mr. Burns, they're recovering from 17 stab wounds to the back. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Fox transitioning to a hardcore sex channel. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Instead of gradually transitioning to a hardcore sex channel, Fox spawned Fox News, which led the charge to levy enormous fines against channels like Fox... for trying to transition to hardcore sex channels . 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jim Carrey's 40 classic films. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I was a massive Jim Carrey fan during the "Ace Ventura" era. He has not made 40 classic films. He's barely made four. (My personal Jim Carrey pantheon starts with "Ace Ventura", "Dumb and Dumber" and "Truman Show" and ends with a three-way tie between "The Majestic", "Bruce Almighty" and "Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls". And no, I didn't forget "Eternal Sunshine".) 
 
 
 
 When this episode came out, they didn't anticipate Jim Carrey's future efforts to be taken seriously as an actor ... and then his awkward return to rubber-faced comedy when things didn't work out that well. 
 
 
 
 
 
 News channel consolodation. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Instead of forming one mega news network, each network decided to tackle the 24-hour news cycle head-on. Which provides us with the same amount of actual news as we got in 1995 -- maybe 90 minutes or so -- now supplemented with 22-and-a-half extra hours of people screaming at us. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Redesigned planes. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The only thing that airlines have redesigned is the "how to turn the passengers upside-down and shake all of the change out of their pockets like a '50s-era bully" handbook. Now available in paperback and Kindle formats too! 
 
 
 
 
 
 Robot librarians, British servants and inanimate carbon rod handlers. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 We're still at the point where the old Nintendo R.O.B.'s block-stacking ability looks pretty sophisticated. It's becoming less and less likely that our lifetimes will include robot butlers packing our suitcases for a vacation to the Moon. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Fully sponsored education. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 While I'm sure The Man finds ways to sneak into the education system and imprint himself in the brains of the children... we're not quite at the point where the answer to every arithmetic problem is "Pepsi" . As for classrooms being networked like they are in this clip, I think that does happen some... at least according to the Ellen Page commercial where she sees an elementary school class conferencing with another class in China. That information was implanted in my brain by Cisco. 
 
 
 
 
 
 (Sigh) ubiquitous video phones. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 No peek at the future would be complete without the requisite video phones. Even "The Simpsons" fell into the trap. Video conferencing sucks. Even yours, iPhone people. 
 
 
 
 So, to send this message loudly to the past: Video phones flopped. We have the technology but, like one of the eight billion home runs hit by Cubs opponents this season at Wrigley Field, we're taking it and throwing it back. In fact, here in The Future, we spend a ton of effort to do as little face-to-face connecting as possible. 
 
 
 
 
 
 World War III. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 In this exchange, Hugh reminds Moe that the British saved America's ass in World War III. And while the British are among the candidates to win the ongoing reality show Last Ally Standing... if WW3 ever does come, I'm betting on a dark horse to help us out. Prove me right, Canada. Prove me right. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Big Ben going digital. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Apparently, they didn't just see Big Ben going digital... but being replaced by a VCR clock . Give the British a little more credit than that. I'm sure they'd go laserdisc or better. 
 
 
 
 ||||| Soy snacks. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 "30 Rock" did an entire subplot around buying a SoyJoy out of a vending machine. I'd say the idea of soy-based snacks has definitely come to pass . And "The Simpsons" also accurately nailed their horrible, horrible flavor. Even a generation that grew up eating paste as children can't really choke them down. 
 
 
 
 More and more celebrities getting arrested. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 During Kent Brockman's newscast, he lets viewers know that if they see any celebrities, consider them dangerous. A few years later "The Simpsons" would have an entire episode centered around Mel Gibson. In 2010, they'd take Brockman's advice and stay the hell away . Celebrities really do get arrested at a prodigious rate today. 
 
 
 
 Rolling Stones old but still going strong. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The Rolling Stones really ignored the whole "live fast, die young" credo of rock-and-roll. Malcolm Gladwell could write a whole new "Outliers" book on the fact that they're all still alive. 
 
 
 
 Widespread home satellite dishes. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Throughout "Lisa's Wedding", pretty much every home and building shown has a small satellite dish on top. And while not all of us have satellite cable, this episode was written around the same time that DirecTV was founded . (Both in 1994.) A decade and a half later we don't all have small satellites on our roofs... but many people do, and we all, at least, have the option. (And, just like the "Simpsons" predicted, they're an unexpected eyesore.) 
 
 
 
 The Prius design. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This cab, driven by the indicted Mayor Quimby, looks surprisingly like the Prius design. And/or they modeled it after the Inspector Gadget car. Honestly, it's right smack in the middle of those two designs. 
 
 
 
 Motion controlled video games. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 You probably don't recognize this scene. I didn't. It was cut out for syndication... meaning we saw it when Fox first aired the episode, then didn't see it the subsequent 200 times we watched the episode, and now have it back on the DVD. 
 
 
 
 The syndicators do a so-so job on choosing which scenes to chop out of the "Simpsons" episodes to make room for one more precious commercial. This was a good chop. The scene is kind of dumb -- Bart and a random guy wear virtual reality headsets and play motion-controlled video games. 
 
 
 
 And while it's not exactly the Wii or the Kinect or the PlayStation we're-so-late-to-this-motion-controlled-party-that-the-kegs-are-tapped-and-the-hosts-are-in-pajamas... and the headsets more resemble Nintendo's ill-fated Virtual Boy... we are in the era of motion-controlled video games . So I'm giving them a "pretty damn enough." 
 
 
 
 Classroom overcrowding. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I'm pretty sure this is what classrooms look like here in California . Well, just with a spicier Latin flavor. 
 
 
 
 Communicator watches. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I'm not sure why People Of The Past were so obsessed with wristwatch communication. Dick Tracy built his entire career around it... and here Hugh uses it for his crucial wedding proposal. Once wrist communication actually became possible, we realized it was NOT going to revolutionize the world as we know it. 
 
 
 
 Yes, this technology exists today -- mostly as toy walkie talkies or through Bluetooth from your cell phone. I think they sell both in SkyMall. And I assure you, anything sold in SkyMall is not a cutting edge or indispensable technology. 
 
 
 
 A device resembling the Kindle. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The device on Lisa's dorm room floor here (or is it Hugh's?) looks a bit like the Kindle. Or, at the very least, a slightly larger Apple Newton . The PDA, not the cookie. PDA meaning personal digital assistant, not public display of affection. Why do things always have to mean other things? 
 
 
 
 Credit cards at vending machines. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 They nailed this one perfectly. 2010 is the time when we'll happily jam our credit cards into anything -- we haven't quite gotten to widespread wireless/thumbprint/RFID payments yet, but we sure as hell aren't going to carry around a bunch of cash anymore. We're not cavemen after all. 
 
 
 
 Thousands of cable channels. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 And yet we still watch the same "Simpsons" episodes over and over and over. 
 
 
 
 
 
 So yesterday, Lisa Simpson got married.That invitation is from the classic "Simpsons" episode called "Lisa's Wedding"... which was the show's first (of three) episodes to feature a vision of the future. (And also, six seasons in, the first Lisa-centric episode to come anywhere close to "classic" status.)In the tradition of the two lists I did last year discussing "Back to the Future Part II" -- its good predictions and bad predictions -- I decided to look at the vision from "The Simpsons" of what 2010 would look like."Lisa's Wedding" aired in 1995, making predictions about a future 15 years later. Here are the 11 best predictions it made. (And, yes, there will be another list this week with the worst predictions it made.)Coming soon -- the 11 Predictions About 2010 That the Simpsons Got Wrong.
– During its sixth season in 1995, The Simpsons gazed into the future—specifically, 2010—in the “Lisa’s Wedding” episode. Writing at 11points.com, Sam Greenspan lists 11 things about this year the episode got right: Soy snacks: Not only did the show predict their popularity, it also “nailed their horrible, horrible flavor.” Celebrity arrests: “During Kent Brockman's newscast, he lets viewers know that if they see any celebrities, consider them dangerous”—and today, “celebrities really do get arrested at a prodigious rate.” Rolling Stones still at it: A poster for the “Rolling Stones Steel Wheelchair Tour 2010” is shown, and the band is now “old but still going strong,” Greenspan writes. They “really ignored the whole ‘live fast, die young’ credo of rock-and-roll.” Credit cards everywhere: In the Simpsons episode, plastic is used at a vending machine. And it’s true: “2010 is the time when we'll happily jam our credit cards into anything. We sure as hell aren't going to carry around a bunch of cash anymore. We're not cavemen after all.” Thousands of cable channels: Yep, got that, Greenspan concludes: “And yet we still watch the same Simpsons episodes over and over and over.” For the complete list, click here—or for the follow-up, 11 predictions the show got wrong, click here.