When Marty McFly and Doc Brown travel 30 years into the future from 1985 in the 1989 film Back to the Future II they arrive on October 21, 2015 and present a vision of what they think the world will be like.
That’s actually the date this week so we can now judge the accuracy of their vision of the future.
There’s some things they got right, some things they got close and some things they got completely wrong.
OK, so cast your mind back to start of the movie. It’s the year 1985 and Doc Brown has returned from the future in the Delorean and tells Marty McFly and girlfriend Jennifer they have to go into the future.
“You turn out fine,” Doc Brown tells them – “it’s your kids – something’s got to be done about your kids”.
So off they go in the now flying Delorean to Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at 4.29pm.
So how did they do when it came to looking into their crystal balls to predict what life would be like in the year 2015.
WHAT THEY GOT RIGHT
3D MOVIES
When Marty McFly is in the Hill Valley square looking at his futuristic surroundings, a 3D holographic shark from Jaws 19 attack him. Take a close look at the marquee – it says directed by Max Spielberg – Steven Spielberg’s son. Today 3D movies are very popular in cinemas.
RETRO GADGETS BECOMING VALUABLE
In the Blast from the Past store where Marty picks up a copy of the Sports Almanac – there are number of 80s gadgets including original Mac that are priced like expensive antiques. Today retro gadgets are quite valuable including the original Game Boy from Nintendo and the original iPod.
TAKING PHOTOS WITH TABLETS
When Biff and his cronies crash through the front of the courthouse, a flat tablet like devices descends to capture his image. Today lots of tourists take pictures with their tablets.
FINGERPRINT READERS
When the police take Jennifer to her future home, they press her thumb on the door’s reader to open it. This is used on locks today but more commonly fingerprint readers are used to unlock our smartphones and tablets.
FLATSCREEN TVS
When Marty Jnr gets home he turns on the TV that’s hanging like a picture frame on the wall. In the real 2015 – our screens are just as flat and just as big.
FACETIME/SKYPE CALLS
Needles calls Marty on that same flatscreen TV – something today’s smart TVs are capable of with Skype onboard.
WEARABLES
In the film there are video glasses – used by Marty’s son and daughter at the dinner table and by Doc in the car when they are descending into the 2015 Hill Valley. Doc Brown is also wearing a smartwatch that tells him when the weather is going to change. Today we’ve got Google Glass and virtual reality headsets along with a plethora of smartwatches.
THE CHICAGO CUBS HEADING TO THE WORLD SERIES
In the film Marty McFly is surprised to see the Cubs have won the baseball World Series over Miami. This year the Cubs are on the verge of history and take on the New York Mets for a place in the World Series. The Cubs last won the World Series 107 years ago.
WHAT THEY GOT WRONG
FLYING CARS
Doc Brown famous line in the film was “where we’re going – we don’t need roads”. Today’s driver still very much needs roads. No sign of a flying car – yet.
HOVERBOARD
There’s been a few attempts to replicate the famous hoverboard from Back to the Future II but to no avail. Our wheels still need to touch the ground.
SELF DRYING COAT
When Marty falls in the pond his coat dries for him but the closest we can get is a blow dryer from the outside.
POWER LACES
When Marty puts on his Nike shoes – they have power laces and automatically adjust when they are on his feet. The nearest thing we’ve seen are slip-on shoes with no laces.
HYDRATION MACHINE
When Marty’s parents come over for dinner at their Hilldale home, Grandma places a small pizza into a Black and Decker Hydration Machine and tells it to “hydrate level four, please”. We’ve still got the microwave oven.
DOG-WALKING ROBOTS
In Hilldale when Marty and Doc go to Marty’s 2015 house in Hilldale there are floating devices attached to dog on leads. No such luck in 2015 when the dog still takes us for a walk.
DOUBLE TIES AND INSIDE OUT POCKETS
In the fashion stakes two predictions they made have yet to materialise. The twin ties worn by the future Marty just didn’t catch on – today it’s hard to keep on a single tie. And for kids, the trend in 2015 was having your pockets inside out. They obviously didn’t envisage Instagram.
