Matt Novak, Author at Pacific Standard

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Postal Service by Projectile: Delivering Mail With Rockets

Long before email, it was predicted that traditional letters would be dropped off using the ever-advancing technology of the Space Age.

All you need is a projector and a willing prisoner.

Before Mapquest and Google, there was the "electric directory."

No, there were not. Here's how we know.

Never worry about distractions again.

Before they started playing music, LPs were used to play books for those who couldn't see.

This one was actually a real button, too.

Scientists are getting closer than ever to capturing the contents of our dreams, a goal since at least the 1920s.

We like our inventors to be lone geniuses, but it's almost always the case that today's giant is standing on the shoulders of yesterday's.

We're a long way from being able to predict temblors, but what if we had even a few moments of warning before the shaking started?