International Travel of the Future (1932)
Sunday, September 20, 2009 at 11:36AM ;)
This illustration of international travel in the future, complete with robotic red-cap porters, appeared in the December 4, 1932 San Antonio Light (San Antonio, TX). It seems that all you need to do is step into the tube of your choice, then be shot out via capsule to your final destination.
The design has a very Rube Goldberg feel to it. Why one must first go down a slide, before ascending stairs couldn't be confirmed by presstime. The caption that accompanied the illustration is below.
INSTANTANEOUS INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL -- The artist here suggests the passenger terminals of the future, which, he thinks, will look quite different from the present steamship pier or railroad station. It will be noticed that everybody is equipped with a little personal radio antenna, and the arrivals and departures are announced by a mechanical man, while the red-cap porter is replaced by a robot who handles the luggage.
Previously on Paleo-Future:
- Airplanes of Future Will Travel 1,000 MPH (1939)
- The Family Plane of 2030 A.D. (1930)
- Passenger Air Travel (1945)
- Future Plane Travel (1920)
- The Mechanical Man of the Future (1932)
Reader Comments (2)
Are they traveling via capsule, like in a pneumatic tube, or are they being dematerialized and teleported electrically?
When a person is re-materialized, their sense of balance is essentially "zeroed out" and has to be reset. Going down the slide, with its low-G curve at the top and high-G curve at the bottom, re-establishes the body's baseline for balance and orientation.
Duh! :)