How Did They Know? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jules Verne

The Apollo 8 mission occurred in 1968, over one hundred years after the publication of Verne's novel in 1865. In the novel, a spaceship with three astronauts on board was launched into space from a launchpad in Florida (think Cape Canaveral). It reaches the moon successfully but has to crash-land in the Pacific Ocean on the return trip. Fast forward one hundred years and that's exactly what happened to the Apollo 8 mission with three astronauts on board: James Lovell, Frank Borman, and William Anders. Fortunately, all three astronauts landed safely in the Pacific Ocean.

Answer: Total Recall

Based on a short story by sci-fi writer Philip Dick, this dystopian film features Schwarzenegger as a construction engineer who seeks out his true identity after his memory is erased. The body scanner used on Schwarzenegger's character foreshadowed the ones used in airports today.

Answer: Jeanne Dixon

Born Lydia Emma Pinckert in the early 20th century, Jeanne Dixon became an astrologer and author who worked with her husband in the auto business. Not all her predictions came true. However, she did predict the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) which she described in 1978 as a "dreadful plague."

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln described his Presidential assassination dream to his friend Ward Hill Lamon who later incorporated it into his biography "Recollections of Abraham Lincoln 1847-1865." In the dream, Lincoln recounted how he saw a group of mourners grieving over the dead body of the president who had been assassinated. Eerie, isn't it?

Answer: Ray Bradbury

Flat-screen TVs weren't introduced until 1997 but Bradbury wrote about them in his famous 1953 novel. Those big TV screens played a prominent role in the book. The TVs had essentially replaced the family unit, which doesn't seem too far a stretch put in the context of today's technology.

Answer: Star Trek

William Shatner starred in the original series that began its run in 1966. The crew members of the "Enterprise" used a device similar to our modern-day hands-free device. Little did the writers of "Star Trek" know that their use of this tool in the TV series would become a reality in 1994. Then again, maybe they did.

Answer: Mark Twain

In a newspaper article written in 1904, Twain put forth the idea of a communications device based on the telectroscope, first mentioned by French writer Louis Figuier in 1878. Twain envisioned this device as being able to use a network of phone lines to communicate and connect with the world. I wonder what he would have thought of Facebook?

Answer: James Berry

James Berry predicted many things in that 1968 article. Some have come true, some have not. He foresaw how important home computers would be in the year 2008 and, more importantly, what these computers were capable of doing. Besides online shopping, Berry predicted that we would be paying bills and receiving direct deposits using a home computer. He even predicted big-screen TVs.

Answer: Ray Kurzweil

Kurzweil has been incredibly accurate in his predictions. He often pinpoints an actual date when the predictions will come about. His novel "Age of Intelligent Machines" was published in 1990 and predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union. "The Age of Spiritual Machines," published in 1999, predicted e-books. He even predicted the Internet.

Answer: John Elfreth Watkins

Watkins needn't have worried. Most of his predictions came true. What exactly did this civil engineer predict? He predicted, among other things, television, digital color photography, express trains, and prepackaged meals, all of which were not invented until well into the 20th century. Amazing, isn't it?