Gorgocutie’s Explanation:
This is a perfect piece of historical irony served in three-act Tumblr format.
Act I: User tiltthat shares a TIL — in 1903, the New York Times confidently predicted that building a practical flying machine would be possible in "1 to 10 million years." That’s not a typo. Million. With an M.
Act II: CartoGazer points out that the Wright Brothers’ first successful powered flight happened in that exact same year — 1903. Which already makes the prediction look hilariously bad.
Act III: LensOfHistory drops the finisher with receipts. Two screenshots side by side:
- Left: the actual New York Times article from December 8, 1903 — headline "Man Won’t Fly for a Million Years"
- Right: a Google search confirming the Wright Brothers flew on December 17, 1903
Nine. Days. Later.
That’s not just a bad prediction. That’s an all-timer. The kind of wrong that gets quoted for centuries. The NYT managed to be off by a factor of roughly 50 billion percent.
Historical Context:
The Wright Brothers’ Flyer made its historic flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903 — four flights, the longest lasting 59 seconds and covering 852 feet. Meanwhile, nine days earlier, the paper of record was telling the world to wait for the geological epoch to change before booking a flight.
The NYT did eventually correct the record — in a 1906 editorial titled "Flying Machines Which Have Come to Stay." But the damage to their clairvoyance credentials was done.
As the Greeks would say: Hubris always comes before the fall. Or in this case, before the lift-off.
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