working as diligently as ever to create a more realistic experience as
to what the future might hold.
GM's pavilion was one of the largest of its
kind at the 1964 World's Fair
The ride began by flying
over miniature models of futuristic societies. One portrayed a colony
under the sea, in which multi-paned glass is used to protect settlers
from the harsh pressure. Toddlers rode sea lions and played around in
the coral reefs.
1994 will be dubbed the year of ocean
colonization
Another display seems more
accurate though still overly optimistic of technology. Large cities where preservation of
space by any means necessary are all the rage. Enormous skyscrapers are
serviced by robots, and moving sidewalks, an idea once discussed on
Seinfeld, are used by citizens to move from one place to another.
London to the max
What else will be big in
the future? This question was very important to GM in 1964. Answers such
as widespread cultivation of the desert, civilization of those crazy
natives in Asia and Africa, and violent protests in the Middle East over
cartoons were the most widespread responses. Of course none of these
came true, but the GM futurists, as they were sometimes referred to, did
their best with their sub-Nostradamus abilities. |