Back to the Future. Scientists have revealed what from the cult movie became reality and what predictions remained fantasy

The movie Back to the Future was released in 1989. At the time, the movie's unique look at the year 2015 seemed truly incredible.

But 35 years have passed since its release. So, scientists decided to find out how well this cult classic really told the story of the evolution of technology. MailOnline writes about what from the cult movie has become a reality and what predictions remained fantasy.

In the scenes where the main characters of the movie Marty McFly and Doc Brown arrive in 2015 (the second part of Back to the Future), we saw flying cars, lace-up shoes, and some extremely questionable fashion choices. And while the time-traveling DeLorean hasn't yet become a reality, scientists now say the movie contains more scientific fact than fiction, as it predicted some modern technology with remarkable accuracy.

What from the movie Back to the Future has become a reality

VR headsets

A piece of now common technology that seemed extremely futuristic at the time is the VR headset worn by several characters throughout the movie.

During scenes in old Marty McFly's house, we see the family wearing massive pairs of JVC glasses, which they use to access the internet and make calls. Even if they may look a bit old-fashioned, this visionary prediction actually predates the release of the first commercially available VR headsets by almost 30 years.

Holographic films

Another area in which the movie shows technological innovation comes in a short joke shortly after Marty arrives in the future.

Walking through the futuristic Hill Valley, Marty comes across a movie theater showing Jaws 19, which launches a giant holographic shark into the street. Holographic performances have been widely used since the mid-2000s, with musicians from Elvis to Tupac appearing after their deaths via holographic projection.

With the development of technology, screens have become larger and more detailed, making holograms look even more realistic. Simulated performances were originally stunts or small parts of larger sets, but have now spread to entire shows as holograms have become cheaper. Abba Voyage, which was first launched in 2022, combines a holographic show with live music and has become wildly popular, selling over two million tickets in 2023 alone.

And while holograms are not yet widely used in movie theaters, it's not hard to imagine that something like Jaws 19 will be coming soon.

Mobile payments

The movie also does a surprisingly good job of predicting the development of underlying technologies.

In the movie, Marty is asked to donate to the preservation of the Hill Valley Clock Tower on a device that looks very similar to a modern iPad.

Later in the movie, the villain Biff Tannen uses a mobile payment system to pay for a taxi.

Yes, it seems commonplace today, but the idea of sending money over the Internet once seemed like something out of the realm of fantasy. PayPal, one of the world's largest online payment systems, was founded only in 1998, nine years after the release of Back to the Future Part II.

Biometric systems

At several points in the movie, we are also shown characters using biometric identification, such as fingerprint scanners. Today, almost every phone is equipped with a face or fingerprint scanner that we use to unlock devices, access information, and even authorize payments. But it wasn't until 2004 that Pantech's GI100 was launched as the first commercially available fingerprint scanner phone.

Even then, this technology only entered the mainstream with the release of the iPhone 5S in 2013. Thus, Back to the Future's prediction that PayPal and Touch-ID would be used by 2015 was absolutely accurate.

What did the movie Back to the Future get wrong?

Hoverboards

Perhaps the biggest disappointment is that the movie's writers got it wrong about hoverboards.

When Marty escapes from the futuristic bullies of 2015, he jumps on a bright pink flying hoverboard, which he rides in an exciting chase sequence.

Unfortunately, despite the hopes of every child who watched this movie as a child, modern attempts to recreate this iconic device have not quite lived up to their promise.

In 2014, California-based architect Greg Henderson developed a similar board that flies in the air called the Hendo Hoverboard. The board uses four large electromagnetic "hover motors" to push the board a few centimeters off the ground. But because of the magnetic force needed to lift the board, the Hendo can only be used on large metal sheets that can conduct electricity. This means that the free-flowing chases shown in the movie are simply not possible.

The Canadian company Omni Hoverboards also tried to reproduce this technology by attaching six large screws to the board. With the help of electric motors, this board can lift its rider into the air and fly freely. Thanks to advanced batteries, these boards can carry their users for several minutes, but their range is still limited to less than 300 meters. And while it might be an amazing, huge drone to stand on, it's still not the type of hoverboard that fans of the movie might have hoped for.

Flying cars

Another piece of flying technology that the movie gets seriously wrong is flying cars.

The movie predicts that flying cars will become very common by 2015, but the practicality of personal flying cars is simply unrealistic. For most people and governments, flying cars are simply too inefficient, expensive, and dangerous to invest in.

But there are several companies around the world that are still pursuing the dream of filling cities with flying vehicles. For example, the VX4, developed by the British company Vertical Aerospace, can carry four passengers up to 150 km at a cruising speed of 240 km per hour and is much quieter than a helicopter.

In March of this year, the British government announced that it believes flying taxis will be regularly flying overhead by 2028, and possibly pilotless by 2030.

And Alef Aeronautics has even released a conceptual design for a car that could drive on the streets and fly in the air. They claim that production of the Model A electric car should begin by the end of 2025.

So although Back to the Future was wrong about the launch of flying cars today, things could change over the next few years.

Rejuvenation clinics

Similarly, the same could be true of the rejuvenation clinic Doc visited at the beginning of the movie.

Upon arriving in the future, Doc tells Marty: "I went to a rejuvenation clinic and got an all-natural recovery! They removed a few wrinkles, restored my hair, changed my blood, and added a good 30-40 years to my life. They also replaced my spleen and colon."

Plastic surgeons are quite capable of eliminating some wrinkles and creating a new hairline, but adding even a few years to our lives remains impossible. But who knows what the future holds: perhaps in 35 years the idea of visiting a rejuvenation clinic will not seem so absurd.

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