Editor’s Note: In honor of October 21st, a look at what Back to the Future got right … and wrong.
Future Week keeps on ticking. In honor of the 30th anniversary of Back to the Future, we’ll be celebrating the entire time-traveling trilogy with features throughout the week. On Monday, Senior Editor Matt Melis explored how the series’ extensive use of product placement helped make the films instant classics. Today, the film staff takes an exhaustive look at the trilogy’s inventive technology and tries to connect them to reality.
When you scrape away all the heart and soul out of the Back to the Future trilogy, and there’s a lot of that tasty, gooey stuff, you’re left with a shiny heap of ingenuity. Director Robert Zemeckis, screenwriter Bob Gale, and production designers Lawrence G. Paull and Rick Carter really connected together to carve out a vision of the future that was both marvelous and accurate. What’s more, they had to convince their audiences that Doctor Emmett Brown was not only a brilliant man of purpose but an unprecedented genius.
Most would agree they succeeded on all counts. Together, the three films sparkle from a bold concoction of magic and science that never looks too hokey or out of touch. And here we are, 30 breezy years later, already playing with some of the toys that were once considered impossible or out of reach. It’s puzzling, to say the least, that so much time has gone by, yet even more mind-blowing at how accurate Zemeckis and co. were back in the late ’80s. One might even argue they did a little time traveling themselves.
It’s time for you to do the same. That’s why we’ve assembled this chronological history of all the technology seen in the Back to the Future universe — from archaic ice machines to automated dog walkers! Mind you, we skipped the gadgets and wizardry of the Telltale Game from a few years back, and also left out whatever popped up in the ’90s animated series. Instead, we focused on the silver screen trinkets that so many fans have pined for over the past few decades. So, get your time circuit on and your flux capacitor fluxing….
–Michael Roffman
Editor-in-Chief
Ice Maker
After a long day of smithin’, gun fighting with Mad Dog Tannen, and saving Mary Steenburgen from plunging train-first into a ravine, who wouldn’t want to come home to a cold one or seven?
Year Designed
1885 (though commercial ice makers became available as early as the 1870s)
Inventor
Doctor Emmett Brown
Usefulness
Turn that hot tea into an ice tea. Build yourself an igloo. It’d be nice if the machine didn’t take up half the house, though. More than one cube at a time would be swell, too.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Mother Nature’s been doing it for ages. Columbus Iron Works made this convenience available to the public in the late 19th century. Motel owners have been utilizing this technology to keep guests awake all night long ever since.
–Matt Melis
Frisbee
Ultimate frisbee? Something like that. What starts out as a quirky sight gag — see video above — turns into another trademark tag back in the Back to the Future universe as Marty McFly readily tosses the dirty pie pan at Mad Dog Tannen’s gun. He saves Doc’s life and inevitably tips off the start of an extreme college sport and the ultimate joy of infinite poochinskis for years to come.
Year Designed
1885 (prototype); 1938 (officially)
Inventor
Marty McFly; later by Fred Morrison
Usefulness
For recreation. For fun.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Are you blind, McFly? Have you ever been to a beach? Or a college campus? Better yet, ask your local pooch.
–Michael Roffman
The Breakfast Machine
Just because your DeLorean time machine gets accidentally struck by lightning and sends you back to 1885 after you’ve defeated Biff and restored the space-time continuum to its rightful order doesn’t mean you can just skip the most important meal of the day. So, how do ya like your eggs, sailor?
Year Designed
1885
Inventor
Doctor Emmett Brown
Usefulness
Well, it’s an upgrade over the original breakfast machine (aka mom) in that you don’t have to thank it afterwards. Let’s be honest, though. If you’re a teen like Marty, you’re gonna sleep through your machine-made breakfast and just grab a Poptart anyway. And after that machine slaved over a hot itself all morning. Kids, sheesh.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Yes. Pee-Wee Herman perfected the breakfast machine in 1985.
–Matt Melis
Wake Up Juice
Drink too much as a result of heartbreak? Not good at holding your liquor? Knocked out cold from one little shot? Well has the Wild West got something you. Wake-Up Juice! Made from the spiciest, nastiest ingredients, to help you overcome whatever it is that ails you. Wake-Up Juice: May be deadly in 2015!
Year Designed
>1885
Inventor
Chester the Bartender
Usefulness
Well, it woke the Doc up, but it didn’t quite cure his broken heart.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Oh, there are so many hangover cures these days. A Bloody Mary. Greasy brunches. Wake-Up Juice is in the belly of the burdened.
–Blake Goble
The Bulletproof Vest
Oh sure, this “bulletproof vest” is just a stovetop refurbished and strung around Marty’s neck, but the thing stopped a bullet from Mad Dog Tannen. Who knew you could learn so much from watching Clint Eastwood films. Well, if you watched them, and utilize their tricks in the past, today, this likely wouldn’t work.
Year Designed
1885
Inventor
Marty McFly (underwritten by Clint Eastwood)
Usefulness
Well, not only did it prevent Marty from getting shot, but it made for a hell of a blackjack. Perhaps we should all conceal and carry stovetops with us in self-defense?
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
The bulletproof vest is very much a common form of protective clothing, and it seems to work. Better than chainmail.
–Blake Goble
Flying Time Machine Train
In the grand, heartfelt finale of Back to the Future Part III, Doc Brown connects with Marty in 1985 in perhaps the grandest fashion of all. A large, Willy Wonka and Jules Verne-esque miracle machine: a flying train time machine. It’s a miracle invention, a beautifully designed and articulated vessel, that speaks to the spirit of adventure and invention.
Year Designed
Some time after 1885…
Inventor
Emmett Lathrop “Doc” Brown, Ph.D.
Usefulness
Sure, a flying train time machine is really cool and stuff, but there’s a serious lack of practicality to the whole thing.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
No. Never. We’re not crushing dreams here, just, it’s so much!
–Blake Goble
Mind Reader
The mind reader was the latest in a long series of failed inventions at the time Marty met Doc in 1955. How’d it work? Suction cup to the head connected by wires to a metal jungle gym-looking helmet. By far the Doc’s creepiest contraption.
Year Designed
1955
Inventor
Doctor Emmett Brown
Usefulness
If it worked, it would apparently be a great way to weed out paperboys and those collecting donations for the Coastguard Youth Auxiliary. As it stands, it’s a questionable piece of 1950s fashion headwear.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Thought identification is a rapidly growing field of research. In 2008, an Indian woman was even convicted of murder after a brain scan allegedly revealed she had knowledge of the crime. Are we really that far away from being found guilty of committing thoughtcrimes? Again, creepy.
–Matt Melis
Flux Capacitor
We all know that it’s what makes time travel possible. How it works? Well, you’ll either have to ask the Doc or fall off your toilet and hit your head on the sink while hanging a clock to find out. Time circuits on!
Year Designed
Conceived (November 5th, 1955); Realized (1985)
Inventor
Doctor Emmett Brown
Usefulness
Sure, it’d be great to see the future, live beyond our years, and see the progress of mankind, but as we all know, the road to Biff Tannen’s Pleasure Paradise is paved with noble intentions. Best embrace the present.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Mankind has likely always dreamed of traveling through time. However, the concept of a time machine was first thrust into the mainstream imagination in 1895 by author H.G. Wells’ sci-fi novel The Time Machine. Over a century later, we’re still waiting and struggling to think 4th dimensionally.
–Matt Melis
Skateboard
Why was Marty McFly so obsessed with that damn 4×4? The kid had some sick moves on the skateboard, enough that he could break off a rudimentary wooden scooter and impress all of Hill Valley’s Class of 1956 by rolling around their town square, dodging Biff Tannen’s goons, and even taking out a poor government secretary. Who the hell needs a Toyota when you can do that? And who the hell is John F. Kennedy?
Year Designed
1955 (Hill Valley); 1944 (France)
Inventor
Marty McFly (Hill Valley); The French (according to Betty Magnuson)
Usefulness
“I feel like skateboarding is as much of a sport as a lifestyle, and an art form, so there’s so much that that transcends in terms of music, fashion, and entertainment.” –Tony Hawk
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
You bet your ass it did. Although no one knows for sure who created the first deck, the aforementioned Magnuson claimed to have seen French children in Paris’ Montmartre section riding on boards with roller skate wheels attached to them as early as 1944. By the ’50s, however, California surf shop owner Bill Richard had already started commissioning the sleek boards for what was then considered “sidewalk surfing.” The rest is history, man.
–Michael Roffman
DeLorean Time Machine
“You built a time machine? Out of a DeLorean?” “The way I see it, if you’re gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?” How right you were, Doc. By using John DeLorean’s uncanny frame, the film’s signature invention not only looked sleek but also resembled something extraterrestrial, which best explains why the Peabodys lost their shit when Marty drove it through their barn that early November morning in 1955. Eventually, the DMC-12 would be reconfigured with a number of upgrades, from hovering capabilities to nuclear sustainability (see: Mr. Fusion).
Inventor
You’re the doc, Doc.
Usefulness
The three films accurately depict the wonders and dangers of time travel. While it would be useful to see the past and prepare for the future, any changes could, as Doc warns Marty, “create a time paradox, the results of which could cause a chain reaction that would unravel the very fabric of the space time continuum, and destroy the entire universe!” Yeah, pretty heavy.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Would we ever know? That’s the real trip. According to renown genius Stephen Hawking, there’s a possibility for time travel using potential wormholes, as he states: “I do believe in time travel. Time travel to the future. Time flows like a river and it seems as if each of us is carried relentlessly along by time’s current. But time is like a river in another way. It flows at different speeds in different places and that is the key to traveling into the future. This idea was first proposed by Albert Einstein over 100 years ago. He realised that there should be places where time slows down, and others where time speeds up. He was absolutely right. And the proof is right above our heads. Up in space.” Read his full analysis here and start packing.
–Michael Roffman
Automated Dog Feeder
Man’s best friend has always been a dog. Dog’s best friend, however, is whoever remembers to feed it. The automated dog feeder never forgets!
Year Designed
1985-ish
Inventor
Doctor Emmett Brown
Usefulness
Rover has never been happier, but just remember to shut the automated dog feeder off when you and Fido will be out of town! Ewwww…
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Yes, it’s a staple for modern pet owners. Pet-owning couples even include dog feeders on their wedding registries.
–Matt Melis
Automated Toaster
One of the very first inventions spotted in Back to the Future is Doc Brown’s self-handling toaster, which eliminates the highly difficult task of pressing that tab thing down yourself in order to make toast.
Year Designed
>1985
Inventor
Doctor Emmett Brown
Usefulness
You know, sitting down to write this, the thought was: Yeah, automated toaster, that’d be cool. Toasters are already pretty automated, though.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
It absolutely happened. Just Google “automatic toasters” and marvel at the future, today! And while they do work, the same can’t be said for Doc Brown’s, which just burns toast and bounces it around a lot.
–Dominick Suzanne-Mayer
Giant Amplifier
Marty McFly, such a bad student, but what a dreamer. Of course he’d stop off at someone’s house to screw around with an enormous amplifier and make a huge mess with it. Seriously, when did Doc Brown have time to make this while he was designing a time machine? Right, that’s a question of logic we should ignore here, isn’t it? Regardless, it’s a terrific sight gag to say the least.
Year Designed
Likely 1985
Inventor
Emmett Lathrop “Doc” Brown, Ph.D.
Usefulness
Only if you’re in Spinal Tap.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Oh, humongous amps are a special thing in modern concert-going, bigger than organized faith. We bow to amps, remember? Our fear is that they’ll one day become sentient and rock us to death.
–Blake Goble
Mr. Fusion
Remember how Marty and Doc struggled with the lack of plutonium in 1955? “I’m sure that in 1985, plutonium is available in every corner drugstore, but in 1955, it’s a little hard to come by,” the frustrated inventor gasped. Well, no, that never happened — thank god, right? — and so Doc had to tinker with his time machine some. After all, he couldn’t just screw over another group of Libyans. He was lucky to find any at all in Hill Valley! Nevertheless, the future provided a solution with Mr. Fusion, a friendly, coffee maker-looking unit that converts household waste into soluble energy.
Year Designed
Possibly 2015, though the novelization of Back to the Future Part II says it wasn’t exactly “street legal,” and none of the other cars have it attached to their backs, which suggests that it possibly comes later in the years. Still, there’s a Fusion Industries generator pumping out steam in the alley they land in during their visit to Hill Valley 2015, so who knows for sure.
Inventor
Fusion Industries
Usefulness
Do you wanna make fake bombs for Libyan nationalists? Or pray for lightning to strike twice?
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
There are a lot of new ways for sustainable energy, but this “free country” of corporate, oil-loving suits would rather keep burning this world to the ground with their greed and — hey, where you going? Come on back. Come on back. Needless to say, there’s no such thing as Fusion Industries. Yet…
–Michael Roffman
Hovercars
Clerks’ Randall Graves put it best while stuck in traffic one day: “It’s times like this it occurs to me that we were lied to by The Jetsons.” Every time I watch the DeLorean zip through the air in Back to the Future Part II, I feel the same way.
Year Designed
Presumably pre-2015.
Inventor
That Vo-Tech kid you laughed at in high school.
Usefulness
It could theoretically cut down on gridlock. But slow drivers would still find their way into the fast sky-lane. And do I really want some of you people armed with an airborne vehicle? I think I’ll take the hoversubway.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Where they’re going, they don’t need roads. Where you and I are going, we better play it safe and plan on some pavement. Ford began working on a hovercar as early as the late ‘50s, but the closest we’ve come is the hovercraft. As for your favorite model being able to soar through the air? Better grab yourself a Snickers. It’s gonna be awhile.
–Matt Melis
Flying Cameras
If anything, here’s one of the more practical inventions that it’s a shame we don’t have by now. Sure, we have drones, but where are the news cameras that help USA Today find its scoops here and now?
Year Designed
2015
Inventor
An all-too-hopeful peeping Tom at NASA.
Usefulness
It’d absolutely do away with the necessity of sending people into warzones to report, so that’d be cool. Sad they don’t have a conversational box that recreates the patter of old-time newsmen, though.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
No, and it’d probably work too well. Imagine you leaving a bar and playfully shoving your drunk friend, only to find your face on Twitter within 10 minutes with the headline “Local folks come to fisticuffs!”
–Dominick Suzanne-Mayer
Alpha-Rhythm Generator
Technically, that neuralyzer is just a sleep-inducing alpha-rhythm generator (got that?) that makes you think everything was all a dream when you wake up.
Year Designed
2015 or earlier
Inventor
Agent Kay?
Usefulness
You saw how it shut up that nosy second Jennifer. Now, the first Jennifer … she could ask me questions about our future all day long!
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Well, the Men in Black seem to have this technology perfected. Then again, if we ever encountered it, do you really think they’d let us remember? Now, I want you all to look right here…
–Matt Melis
Weather Forecast Watch
When they first return to the Hill Valley of the future, Doc Brown’s able to predict, down to the second, when the rainy weather will finally cease. And sure enough, away goes the rain and out comes the sun, just on cue.
Year Designed
>2015
Inventor
Doctor Emmett Brown, presumably.
Usefulness
Supreme. Imagine knowing how long you could afford to slack off on getting to the train station because you knew exactly how long it’d take to stop raining.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
We have the Apple Watch, which can give you a forecast, but it’s the “to-the-minute” aspect we’re still waiting on with bated breath. As for whether it’d work, we’d be getting into the realm of watches having the ability to anticipate the world’s machinations, and that’s terrifying. We never thought it’d be at the hands of the watch that we’d meet our end.
–Dominick Suzanne-Mayer
Powerlaces
Nobody ever watches Back to the Future Part II and doesn’t want shoes that tie automatically. I, for one, left the house this morning without shoes completely on and in place. The indignities of other commuters’ silent shade would be a thing of the past.
Year Designed
2015
Inventor
Nike
Usefulness
See above. Our cultural march toward complete apathy in all daily tasks would gain massive steam.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
We might not be there quite yet, but Nike is absolutely working on this very thing as we speak.
–Dominick Suzanne-Mayer
Rejuvenation Clinics (“Anti-Aging Facelift”)
Honestly, some of us who saw this when they were young thought that Doc Brown was just peeling rubber cement off his face in some sort of creepy masochist event. But no, it was a sight gag likely meant to alleviate Christopher Lloyd’s pain in wearing pounds of makeup.
Year Designed
2015
Inventor
Companies of the future. By Unilever and Exxon, we’ll assume.
Usefulness
Actually, for vanity cases, this would be more valuable than HD make-up.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Turn on the TV, and wait a few minutes. Anti-aging is the hottest thing in cosmetics now, right?
–Blake Goble
Self-Service Robots
When Marty finds himself in 2015, one of his early impressions is of a world in which service staff at restaurants and gas stations have been replaced with more efficient androids. Sly commentary on the digitalization of labor, Back to the Future Part II. Or, you know, not.
Year Designed
>2015
Inventor
Somebody who doesn’t understand what happens when you build sentient robots.
Usefulness
Evil, but highly efficient. Imagine a robotic DMV representative whose programming forbade it from being a temperamental dick.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Every Coca-Cola Freestyle machine is another teenager who doesn’t get to waste summers in a movie theater. THINK OF THE TEENAGERS!
–Dominick Suzanne-Mayer
Hoverboards
Because Back to the Future is built on parallels, the second film features another epic Tannen chase around Hill Valley’s town square. But Zemeckis and his creative team outdid themselves by introducing hoverboards. Yes, floating skateboards — Marty’s made by Mattel; Tannen’s by Pitbull — that could glide over everything but water. Of course, the butthead that is Martin McFly, Sr. decided to float his right over the square’s central pond, leaving him with only one recourse from Tannen and his goons: an early morning swim. Well, it beats getting slapped with a criminal record.
Year Designed
>2015
Inventor
Some really cool dude (or dudette) at Mattel
Usefulness
Well, if you ever need to outrun a Ford Super De Luxe or escape from a moving train, then the hoverboard comes pretty damn useful. Otherwise, it’s a step up from an average skate board, especially with regards to road quality. How many times have you tripped from a stray pebble or a crack in the sidewalk? Say no more.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Yes and no. Back in the ’90s, Zemeckis cruelly teased fans that the boards were going to be commissioned, but they were deemed too dangerous. Of course, he was joking, but in the pre-Internet age, that news sent shockwaves to youngsters and teens hellbent to get some real air on their boards. Since then, countless would-be scientists and production teams have tried to replicate the science. More recently, Lexus unveiled their own design, but the only problem is that it works strictly on special metallic surfaces. Still, better than nothing.
–Michael Roffman
Self-Drying Jacket
When Marty has to save his son from making a bad, bad mistake, he’s given a bundle of clothing by Doc, in which one of the items is a self-fitting jacket that’s all rubbery and mesh-like. Cool. What’s even more radical is how the damn thing dries on its own, a particular novel feature that likely came in handy for his post-work stroll around Hill Valley. Though, come to think of it, he probably wouldn’t have been invited into the antique store if he was sopping wet, which means he definitely wouldn’t have bought the Grays. Sports. Almanac.
Year Designed
>2015
Inventor
The workman style looks like a post-modern Carhartt. So, let’s go with Carhartt.
Usefulness
Do you even have to ask? Those living in the Pacific Northwest, or the brave souls on fishing vessels, would surely appreciate this technology.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
“The self-drying jacket doesn’t really exist at this moment,” designer and fabric technology expert Rebeccah Pailes-Friedman told Marketplace earlier this year. “I think that there are really exciting technologies that are happening—technologies where water will just be repelled by the fabric and never really absorbed, so the jacket will never actually get wet.”
–Michael Roffman
Thumb Locks
When Hill Valley’s finest find Jennifer asleep in the alley — seriously, how stupid was it to leave her there? — they bring her back home and use her thumb to open the front door. Pretty cool, right? Well, AT&T must have thought that no crooks would ever cut anyone’s thumbs off to get inside.
Year Designed
>2015
Inventor
AT&T. Duh.
Usefulness
In an ideal world, it would be great to never have to worry about your keys. But, what if you went away on a trip and your floozy of a brother-in-law had to feed your dog or cat? Or you were trapped inside and needed assistance? Or … a crook cut your thumb off to get inside? These are the things that keep me up at night.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Oh, they’ve been around. My best friend’s sister’s brother works in a department overseen by a sub-division of the CIA that was once linked to a corporation that dabbled with thumb locks. Really? No. But given that Apple created Siri, someone should have been able to tackle this easy peasy technology. ::searches Internet:: Yep, there’s an app for that.
–Michael Roffman
Custom Window Scenery
This one isn’t so spectacular in that it’s simply a shoddy screen that sells families on the projected idea that they’re living in the mountains or amongst the forest or what have you. Naturally, as the McFlys have fallen on hard times, the screen looks crummy and obvious. It’s likely well-to-do families own better screens, or perhaps it’s too tacky for them? Either way, it’s an unnatural piece of technology that should only really exist on space ships a la Prometheus.
Year Designed
Way before 2015, that’s for sure. The McFly window looked used and beat up.
Inventor
Some hack photographer who really wanted to sell his work.
Usefulness
About as necessary as a Chia Pet.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
This inane technology probably could have existed in 1985. Or at least some form of it. As Conan O’Brien prop master Bill Tull might recommend, “Grab your wife’s favorite photo. Tape it to the wall. Boom. Custom Window.”
–Michael Roffman
Roving Garbage Bins
On the one hand, roving garbage bins led to Doc getting his hands on Marty’s almanac. (Unfortunately, he opted for the regular bin in the alley after hiding from the cop car.) On the other hand, come on, they’re super convenient.
Year Designed
>2015
Inventor
Waste disposal experts?
Usefulness
Never again would you have to wander around with a wrapper in hand, hoping to come across a trash can that could relieve you of your most precious burden.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
We’re not quite there yet, though a lot of cities are at least solar powering their bins. And just imagine if they went rogue.
–Dominick Suzanne-Mayer
Hoverbelts
In the ‘80s future world theme park that is 2015, George McFly will be an old man. So old, he looks nothing like the spry young man he once was. Imagine this with me now, but like, if George McFly were a movie character, people would say he looks so old he was played by a different actor in the future or something. Regardless, George McFly isn’t so good at walking anymore, so hello hoverbelt! A wholly sophisticated floating pad that feels like something The Jetsons would have laughed it.
Year Designed
>2015
Inventor
We’re guessing here, but … the Affordable Care Act?
Usefulness
Well, it flipped George. Basically, the hoverbelt needs to get out of beta.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
We still only have Rascals, but mobile hovering aids for the elderly seems like a good enough idea, right? People over 55 fare well with new technology, as you all know. :: receives strongly worded and deserved letters from Grandpa Simpson and AARP::
–Blake Goble
Black and Decker Hydrator
Of all the sights we saw in the future McFly household, nothing sparked our imaginations quite like when Lorraine plumped that Pizza Hut pie in three seconds flat. The fact that it looked about as appetizing as Einstein’s Kal Kan puppy chow hardly seemed to matter. Oh, and the hydrator is voice-activated, too – so bon appétit, Mr. Hawking!
Year Designed
Presumably pre-2015
Inventor
A laid-off NASA scientist who had stockpiled a warehouse full of stolen astronaut food
Usefulness
It’s a space saver. Think of how much more food we Americans could waddle out of Costco with if everything was miniaturized. Obesity epidemic be damned!
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
After years of eating my mother’s “Sahara” chicken, I feel confident in saying we’re not quite there yet … it’s a little dry.
–Matt Melis
Indoor Garden Centre
This seems awfully elaborate to just drop down in the middle of a kitchen. Are the produce grown and sustained inside the Garden Center? Does the thing shoot up in to your daughter’s room when you don’t want apples at a moment’s notice? And just how much would this thing be? Does it cool and preserve fruit? So man unanswered question, Bob Zemeckis and Bob Gale! The whole thing is just a logistical nightmare, we were fine with fruit baskets and banana holders and farmers markets, thank you very much.
Year Designed
>2015
Inventor
Not sure. Odds are this would be available at Home Depot.
Usefulness
Well, it’s certainly convenient in theory.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Probably at co-ops, this thing seems like it would be fun for a minute until you have to figure out fertilizer, and composting. The Pinterest produce photos alone would be a pain to compose.
–Blake Goble
Automated Dog Walker
Settle down, Fido, we need to pay our future bills, and watch future TV, before we can even think about taking you out for a walk. Sigh, I hear you whimpering. If only there was a way to take you out for some needed attention and stamina-building. What? An automatic dog walker? Tell me more! Good thing we already invented translating dog collars in Up, or else you never would have hipped me to this grand invention, Fido!
Year Designed
Hypothetically before 2015
Inventor
Some garage genius at Pet Smart
Usefulness
For the lazy modern pet owner, this could be a boon.
Did It Happen? Would It Work?
Don’t think so, but given GPS and remote technology, mixed with cornball HGTV inventiveness, this seems like the next big win in dog tech 2K15.
–Blake Goble
