>From the year 852 to the present. See: http://www.skygod.com/quotes/predictions.html
People knew a lot more than we give them credit for, and some of them were bold indeed. We are not such visionaries making predictions about cold fusion. Here are a few of my favorites. First, by the figurations of art there be made instruments of navigation without men to row them, as great ships to brooke the sea, only with one man to steer them, and they shall sail far more swiftly than if they were full of men; also chariots that shall move with unspeakable force without any living creature to stir them. Likewise an instrument may be made to fly withall if one sits in the midst of the instrument, and do turn an engine, by which the wings, being artificially composed, may beat the air after the manner of a flying bird. — Frier Roger Bacon, c1250, 'Epistola de secretis operibus' I suppose we shall soon travel by air-vessels; make air instead of sea voyages; and at length find our way to the Moon, in spite of the want of atmosphere. — Lord Byron, 1822. For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see, Saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be; Saw the heavens fill with commerce, Argosies of magic sails, Pilots of the purple twilight, dropping down with costly bales; Heard the heavens fill with shouting, and there rain'd a ghastly dew, >From the nations' airy navies grappling in the central blue. — Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Locksley Hall, 1842 In this age of inventive wonders all men have come to believe that in some genius' brain sleeps the solution of the grand problem of aerial navigation—and along with that belief is the hope that that genius will reveal his miracle before they die, and likewise a dread that he will poke off somewhere and die himself before he finds out that he has such a wonder lying dormant in his brain. We all know the air can be navigated—therefore, hurry up your sails and bladders—satisfy us—let us have peace. —Mark Twain, letter to the San Francisco Alta California newspaper, 1 August 1869. If you are in trouble anywhere in the world, an airplane can fly over and drop flowers, but a helicopter can land and save your life. — Igor Sikorsky, 1947
