These postcards, handed out by a German chocolate company at the turn of the century, attempted to predict what life might have been like in the year 2000 based on the developing technology of those days. I think my favorite is either the city with a ceiling or the weather machine… But wouldn’t they have been mutually exclusive?

X-Ray Surveillance Machine

Weather Machine

Aqua Train

Walking on Water

Broadcasting Sound & Images

Underwater Boat / Submarine

Escalator / Moving Walkway

Movable City Blocks

Flying Contraptions

City w/ Ceiling

Hot Air Family Zeppelin, pre-Hindenburg

Arctic Vacation Fly-By

Via The Card Mine

Remember Big Dog? Well now its developers are introducing a quieter, bipedal version they’re calling Petman. Boston Dynamics says Petman will be used to test military clothing while “walking, crawling and doing a variety of suit-stressing calisthenics during exposure to chemical warfare agents.” Petman can also mimic human physiology by sweating inside the clothing if the test were to call for it. And remember how Big Dog couldn’t be pushed over? Well, neither can this two legged version. Only a year and a half between the two prototype releases…wow…quite remarkable. What are we gonna see by spring 2011?

Via Wired

Two physicists have come up with a theory as to why the Large Haldron Collider can’t seem to get the ball rolling…or the electrons crashing:

…the troubled collider is being sabotaged by its own future. A pair of otherwise distinguished physicists have suggested that the hypothesized Higgs boson, which physicists hope to produce with the collider, might be so abhorrent to nature that its creation would ripple backward through time and stop the collider before it could make one, like a time traveler who goes back in time to kill his grandfather.

In the early 90s, the US built the supercollider, which was also out to find the Higgs particle. After spending billions, the project was canceled, “an event so unlikely that [physicists call] it an ‘anti-miracle’” and claim this as further evidence of the future sabotaging efforts to find the Higgs.

On a sidenote: French police arrested a CERN physicist last week on suspicion of working with the N. African Al Qaida.

Via NYTimes Online

Certain individuals here at bunchofnerds claim that I “hate the future” because I often don’t see the point in useless new technological devices. But this I love! De Dietrich has put this new ultrasonic dishwasher on the market – similar to what your dentist or piercer uses to clean their instruments – and if I wasn’t content with washing dishes by hand, I’d buy one. Save water and detergent while annoying your pet.

Via Gizmodo

Boston Dynamics, the DARPA backed research agency, specializing in developing combat-ready robotics and simulations machines, have released a new video of their “war mule” robot, named Big Dog. Resembling our favorite four-legged friend, Big Dog is run by a gasoline-powered engine (hence the noise), trots at 3.3 mph and can carry a load of up to 120lbs, if not more. Scary, spooky and fascinating all at one time.

I was browsing through something or other, when I came upon pictures from trials earlier this year of the SeaPhantom, a 5 passenger speed boat from Maritime Flight Dynamics (awesome name!). The SeaPhantom is a work of maritime engineering art, radically reducing drag with it’s lifting-body, airfoil design and looking like something straight out of the newest Batman film. The goal of the project, is to make a sleek and efficient mobile craft, which can move at triple-digit speeds, potentially becoming a viable alternative for direct travel from city center to city center. Also, imagine the cool types of weaponry that could be mounted on that thing, I’m sure Chuck Norris is.

Read more: Trial photos of the SeaPhantom

3D printing technology is one of my most anticipated technological advancements. Sure it’s been around for awhile, but, it’s just not there quite yet, not until we can walk into Staples and easily walk out with our very own personal 3D printing device. The engineers behind the Desktop Factory are working hard on making this a reality, with their personal 3D printer, currently being tested for use in the engineering and design fields. The printer can take your 3D mock up and mold a durable, functional model from the bottom up, one layer at a time in sturdy composite plastic. The composite plastic material can easily be sanded down and painted making it of special use to industrial designers who rely on turnaround time. The Desktop 3D printer measures just 25x20x20 inches and weighs less than 90lbs, meaning it won’t take up too much space in your factory or design studio.

Not for sale yet, the 3D printer is currently undergoing a pre-sale, with a target price of $5,000 to $7,000 dollars US. As Desktop Factory says, imagine when your child can design their own small toy model or order a design off the internet, then simply ‘print’ it out and paint it. I can’t wait for the future.

Read more: Desktop Factory

Canadian inventor Troy Hurtubise is famous for his protection suit for hunters, known as the bear-suit. After hearing from Iraq war veterans about adapting the suit for combat use, Hurtubise shifted focus. Hoping to attract the Canadian and US military as clients, Hurtubise has invented a light-weight exoskeleton body suit of armor, which resists bullets, light explosives, knives and clubs. Called the Trojan, the suit could prove to be a welcome edition to the future of military warfare. The inventor was also quick to give credit to Microsoft’s amazing action shooter, Halo, as one of his inspirations in designing the Trojan. Be sure to check the video interview with Hurtubise for more information.

Man develops armor war suit | Video interview with creator