Pre-20th Century Science Predictions Quiz

Answer: Rocket-powered flight

In this satirical book written by Cyrano de Bergerac and published in 1657 posthumously, Cyrano is noted for writing about rocket-powered flight. Fireworks were used. He also is credited with describing the principle of a ramjet. Influenced by the libertine philosophy of Pierre Gassendi, he challenges the view of Earth and humanity as the centre of creation. He wrote three books falling into the category of 'fabulous tales', however the third was not published. Cyrano is probably best known from Edmond Rostand's 1897 play "Cyrano de Bergerac", which is only partially accurate.

Answer: Submarine

The book was written by Margaret Cavendish who, unusually for the time, published under her own name. Her wealth and social status helped her pursue her writing and philosophy. Submarines do not have a starring role, unlike the Nautilus in Jules Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas". Her book of prose fiction is in three parts: 'romancical', 'philosophical' and 'fantastical' and was a companion piece for her "Observations Upon Experimental Philosophy" (1666).

Answer: Photography

Charles-François Tiphaigne de la Roche (1722-1774) was a French writer and physician. He wrote mostly anonymously and is credited with anticipating photography, television and synthetic food in this novel. John Logie Baird actually built a television. The title of the novel is also an anagram of the author's name Tiphaigne.

Answer: Lie detectors

Russian writer, journalist, soldier and spy, Bulgarin prefaced his novel with a criticism of the implausible descriptions of future centuries by the writers Louis-Sébastien Mercier and Julius von Voss. His own work "Plausible Fantasies or a Journey in the 29th Century" still contained the 19th century social order of kings, princes, merchants and landlords however he managed to come up with some realistic predictions including lie detectors, the telephone and copier machine.

He was an abrasive journalist and attracted critical epigrams from leading Russian poets of the time, such as Alexander Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov.

Answer: Artificial satellite

American writer Edward Everett Hale provided a description of the construction and launching of an artificial satellite into orbit. It was a 200 ft (61 m) diameter sphere made of bricks. Because it was accidentally launched with people on board and they survived, it is arguably the first known description of a space station. Indeed, the fourth part of the series was titled "Life on the Brick Moon".

Answer: TASER

Captain Nemo describes the weapon as using the principle of a Leyden jar, an early form of capacitor, in pellets that are fired at his prey to electrocute it. TASERs use a wire attached to hooks to transfer the charge but otherwise the principle is similar. Jules Verne himself did not regard himself as a science-fiction writer nor predicting future technologies, merely writing about what he found in his researches. The Leyden jar had been invented over 100 years previously in 1745.

Answer: Debit cards

Although the cards functioned as debit cards (in other words, you already had the money), the writer called them 'credit' cards. His book published in 1888 proved to be very popular and resulted over 150 "Bellamy Clubs" formed to discuss the book's ideas. There is an argument that some dystopian fiction, such as Orwell's "1984", is in part a reaction to this type of novel.

Answer: House redesign for parking

Heavier-than-air flight was still over a decade away, so he imagined private airships providing the mass transport system, much like cars today. He foresaw that houses, public buildings and the environment generally would have to be redesigned to accommodate them.

He anticipated that speeding up the pace of life would have a debilitating effect on people. He also wrote of the harmful effects of science going out of control, such as a bioweapon leakage.

Answer: Biological control

The one he discussed was reintroducing animals inoculated with a suitable virus to do the killing. Myxomatosis may be the one he had in mind. Poisonous snakes in South America, the potato-bug, locusts and other insect pests were to get the same treatment. By AD 2000 he anticipated virtually all disease could be innoculated against and, since food was so well understood, eating the correct diet would keep you healthy. The author was John Jacob Astor IV who was one of the more famous passengers on SS Titanic's maiden voyage in 1912.

Answer: Electric heaters

Edward Page Mitchell worked for 'The Sun', a New York daily newspaper, as a short story writer and later the editor. "The Senator's Daughter" anticipates such things as travel by pneumatic tube, electrical heating, food-pellet concentrates as well as societal changes such as votes for women and animal rights. He also wrote on more speculative topics such as cyborgs and teleportation, also beating HG Wells to the invisible man and time travel. It was his earlier paranormal writings that secured his employment.