Dec
06
2007The Omni Future Almanac on Inflation
06
2007
A while ago, I bought one of the coolest books ever - the Omni Future Almanac. The Omni Future Almanac was written in 1982, and its purpose is to describe what life will be like, well, now.
An entire blog could be devoted to the contents of this book. Sometimes it’s spot on, sometimes it’s way off, but the most interesting parts are the ones where life could easily have turned out they way they describe if a butterfly flapped its wings in just a slightly different way.
I’ve kept this book on a table in my office that I always walk by, and I’m constantly picking it up and perusing a random page. Today, it was about the effects of inflation. So, without further ado, here are the prices we’re looking at in 2010, three years from now (p. 158).
- Hamburger (1 lb.) $22.71
- Dozen Large Eggs: $18.00
- Magazine: $30.00
- Calculator: $50.00 (he he)
- Postage Stamp: $2.25
- Cup of coffee: $4.50 (OK, they kind of got that one right, in a weird way)
- Three Room Apartment Monthly Rent: $10,000
- Three Bedroom House: $1,000,000
Oh, but wait:
- Gallon of Gas: $2.00
Well, the good news is that a factory worker will be making $197,000 a year to help pay for all this stuff (p. 159).