Wheat State's February 2020 Newsletter

For decades, thinking about the year 2020 has brought out the imaginations of futurists, engineers, science writers, and others. Here are a few of their funnier predictions: Roads will become tubes. According to a 1957 article in Popular Mechanics , the family vehicle of 2020 would only need enough power to get from home to the nearest tube in a network of pneumatic tubes. Then, by the calculations of a Honeywell engineer, “vehicles will be pneumatically powered to any desired destination.” (Picture the tube at your bank’s drive-through lane, only much bigger.) Human feet will become just one big toe. During a lecture to the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1911, a surgeon named Richard Clement Lucas made the following curious prediction: “Human beings in the future will become one-toed. The small toes are being used less and less as time goes on, while the great toe is developing in an astonishing manner.” Lucas believed that by around 2020, our outer toes would gradually disappear. Vacuums will be nuclear-powered. Alex Lewyt, president of Lewyt vacuum company, wanted the world to be excited about vacuum cleaners. But he may have missed the mark when he predicted in 1955 that nuclear- powered vacuum cleaners would become a reality and every household in 2020 would insist on cleaning floors this way.We can be grateful that the mini-Chernobyl-waiting-to-happen vacuum did not end up on store shelves. We’ll live in flying houses. Inventor Arthur C. Clarke believed the boring houses of 1966 would be radically dif- ferent by the time we reached 2020. He wrote, “The house of the future would have no roots tying it to the ground. Gone would be water pipes, drains, power lines; the autonomous home could therefore move, or be moved, to anywhere on earth at the owner’s whim.” Clarke also predicted,“Whole communities may migrate south in the winter, or move to new lands whenever they feel the need for a change of scenery.” While you won’t be living in a fly- ing house in 2020, you probably will have internet usage that keeps going up. To meet your increasing internet needs, call 1/800 442-6835 and sign up for one of our faster plans. Cornerstone Group © 2020 Hilarious Predictions About 2020 Made Long Ago National Popcorn Day is a Tasty Tradition Everyone agrees that National Popcorn Day is celebrated in January, although its exact date is a matter of debate. Some sources say it’s held on January 19 each year; others claim it takes place on whatever day the “big game” falls. When it comes right down to it, does it really matter? Since popcorn is high in fiber and low in calories, it’s a snack that’s always worth celebrating. According to the Popcorn Board, most U.S. popcorn is grown in the Midwest, primarily in Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, and Missouri. It’s interesting to note that popcorn comes in two basic shapes when it’s popped: snowflake and mushroom. Snowflake is used in movie theaters and ballparks because it looks and pops bigger. Mushroom is used for candy confections because it doesn’t crumble. If you want to spice up your popcorn beyond butter and salt, try sprinkling on Parmesan cheese, dry taco season- ing mix or ranch-style dressing mix, lemon pepper, or a combination of brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Know what goes great with popcorn? Watching TV shows and movies using your favor- ite technology. Wheat State Technologies offers TV plans, premium movie channels, and the fastest high-speed internet around. Find out more at www.wheatstate.com.