2020: What could happen; what will happen; what did happen

Given the speed of technology and change, what could happen in 2020? Here are some ideas.

Things predicted in 2010 at the Consumer Electronics Show for 2020 (that actually might happen):

* Incredibly thin monitor displays, mostly equipped for touch.

* Digital TV, news, books wars end as content distribution goes all digital. Paper newspapers, cable TV, could be the first victims, according to Trend Micro.

Things that some want to happen, but probably won’t:

* Japanese robots are scheduled to build a robotic lunar outpost this year. Might be stalled by economics, according to NBC News.

* A proposed East and West high speed rail line might come together by high speed rail from Beijing to London. PopSci.com predicts this is unlikely.

* Cars that drive themselves. OK we already have them, but they can’t talk to each other and they aren’t safe enough yet. This will happen, according to Popular Science. But maybe not this year.

* Flying Humvee. Forget flying cars. Impossible logistically. But in war areas, a flying Humvee could solve a lot of problems.

* Microchips in the brain. Will we be controlling our computers by thinking? Not soon, according to Intel.

Things that really will happen in 2020:

* February will have 29 days. 2020 is a leap year.

* A presidential election in the U.S. will be Nov. 3, 2020.

* Dubai will build the tallest building at 3,303 feet.

* The anniversary of 100 years of women’s suffrage on Aug. 18.

* The 400th year since the Speedwell brought pilgrims to America.

* Other 100th anniversaries:
– The first Ponzi Scheme, named for its inventor Charles Ponzi. The pyramid scheme lasted 8 months before it collapsed.
– The opiod, hydrocodone, was first synthesized.
– The first retail radios. The first adhesive bandages. The first Snap-On Wrench that offered interchangeable handles and sockets.

Things that happened 75 years ago: 1945

– Victory in Europe, WWII. In the months of January and April, there will be many anniversaries of the liberation of concentration camps.

– Japan surrendered in WWII, after the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs.

50 years ago: 1970

– Trial of the Chicago 7 ended with acquittal on charges of conspiring for disrupting the 1968 Democratic Convention.