At this time of the year we are given predictions for the next twelve months from experts in almost anything, be they politics, stockbroking, fashion and that’s before the astrologers who expect us to believe their predictions for our daily lives. Each January I wonder how accurate the same experts were in their predictions from the previous January and if I was interested, I’d like to hold them to account.

The BBC News website reports on the discovery of predictions for the twentieth century made in 1900 by an American engineer, John Elfreth Watkins in “The Ladies Home Journal.” Ten of his predictions were correct and only four were wrong (or perhaps they still have to happen). By anyone’s standards, this is a remarkable rate of accuracy.

Read the full article, including a facsimile of the original magazine page, here:

Ten 100-year predictions that came true

Categories: Daily Life