So just how many predictions did Back To The Future II get right?


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Great Scott - is it that time already?

2015 has finally come around, and for movie buffs everywhere, there is but one pressing question - how many predictions did Back To The Future II get right about this year?

In the 1989 sci-fi comedy classic, Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) and sidekick 'Doc' Brown (Christopher Lloyd) travel through time to the futuristic year of 2015. 

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While we might not all be jetting about on hoverboards like Marty (sadly), the futuristic contraption is far closer to becoming a reality in 2015 than it was in the 1980s

While we might not all be jetting about on hoverboards like Marty (sadly), the futuristic contraption is far closer to becoming a reality in 2015 than it was in the 1980s

While hoverboards aren't yet clogging up the skies Hendo Hover are hoping to bring them to the masses with support from skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. The technology, while not quite ready for retail, uses magnetic fields to let users literally ride on air

While hoverboards aren't yet clogging up the skies Hendo Hover are hoping to bring them to the masses with support from skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. The technology, while not quite ready for retail, uses magnetic fields to let users literally ride on air

 And remarkably, there were incidences where the film's futuristic predictions were eerily accurate.

In the movie, Marty McFly of 2015 speaks to his colleagues on a video call - a fairly spot-on representation of how we chat using Skype or FaceTime. 

The characters also answered calls with glasses - similar to how computerized eye-wear Google glass works.

The film also sees a dehydrated pizza growing into a meal-sized dish after 12 seconds on the 'hydrator plate' - this could be seen as an early form of the microwave meal. 

Self-lacing shoes EXIST: A Canadian Kickstarter campaign created Powerlace, the athletic shoes that automatically tighten to the wearer's foot. And Nike in 2011 created mock-ups of the cinematic shoes to be auctioned for charity. For 2015, the company has said it intends to create a version that actually lace themselves

3D movies (such as the film's prediction of a Jaws 19) have now become a reality along with holograms.

MOVIE'S HIT AND MISS PREDICTIONS 

HITS

Wearable technology

3D films

Video-call communication

Microwave-style meals 

MISSES

Hoverboards

Flying cars

Self-tying shoe laces

Time travel

Dominance of fax machines  

While the movie was spot on with many of its predictions, not quite everything from Back To The Future II has come to pass. 

Flying cars have not hit the mainstream in the new millennium.

Great strides have been made by company Terrafugia and a Slovakian firm also unveiled a prototype several months ago, the Aeromobil 3.0, which they believe could travel more than 430 miles in one trip. 

But it will be a long time before flying cars are commonplace.

And hoverboards are not yet clogging up the skies - although Hendo Hover are hoping to bring them to the masses with support from skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. 

So far, no one has mastered the art of time travel quite like Doc and his flying Delorean time machine either.

Back To The Future II creators were remarkably accurate when they showed Marty McFly of 2015 video-calling with a colleague - much like Skype or FaceTime

Back To The Future II creators were remarkably accurate when they showed Marty McFly of 2015 video-calling with a colleague - much like Skype or FaceTime

A family speak to each other via Skype - similar to the method of communication used in the film

A family speak to each other via Skype - similar to the method of communication used in the film

Nor are there automatically-drying clothes - although there is a range of clothing materials now being used which speed up the evaporation process. 

The film also sees Marty McFly donning a pair of self-lacing sneakers.

While these haven't made it to the common market just yet, there are hints the time-saving footwear could really be on the horizon.  

Eerily accurate: In one scene round the dinner table, the characters answer phone calls with glasses, similar to how Google Glass works

Eerily accurate: In one scene round the dinner table, the characters answer phone calls with glasses, similar to how Google Glass works

Spot on: 3D movies (such as the film's prediction of a Jaws 19) have also become a reality along with holograms

Spot on: 3D movies (such as the film's prediction of a Jaws 19) have also become a reality along with holograms

In 2011, Nike created mock-ups of the cinematic shoes to be auctioned for charity. For 2015, the company has said it intends to create a version that actually lace themselves.

A Canadian Kickstarter campaign also created Powerlace, the athletic shoes that automatically tighten to the wearer's foot. 

The film placed far too much emphasis on fax machines, which it imagined would be dominant in 2015 - but with the prevalence of the email, the devices have taken a back seat.

The movie also failed to predict the invention of smartphones and tablets - arguably the most important technological breakthrough of the millennium. 

The official date that McFly and Doc landed in the future was October 21, 2015 - and for super-fans, a specially-created clock will let them countdown the minutes until the big day.

The official date that McFly and Doc landed in the future was October 21, 2015 - and for super-fans, a specially-created clock will let them countdown the minutes until the big day

The official date that McFly and Doc landed in the future was October 21, 2015 - and for super-fans, a specially-created clock will let them countdown the minutes until the big day

No flying cars but 1989's Back To The Future II wasn't 100 per cent off the mark about how the year 2015 would look

No flying cars but 1989's Back To The Future II wasn't 100 per cent off the mark about how the year 2015 would look

Flying cars have not hit the mainstream in the new millennium but various prototypes have been developed

Flying cars have not hit the mainstream in the new millennium but various prototypes have been developed

Hoverboards are not yet clogging up the skies - but Hendo Hover are hoping to bring them to the masses with support from skateboarding legend Tony Hawk

Hoverboards are not yet clogging up the skies - but Hendo Hover are hoping to bring them to the masses with support from skateboarding legend Tony Hawk

Not quite right: In Back To The Future II, fax machines are a popular method of communication in 2015 (scene from the film above)

Not quite right: In Back To The Future II, fax machines are a popular method of communication in 2015 (scene from the film above)



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