Editing 1311: 2014

<noinclude>:''This page refers to the comic named "2014". For comic #2014, see [[2014: JWST Delays]].''</noinclude>
{{comic
| number    = 1311
| date      = January 1, 2014
| title     = 2014
| before    = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image     = 2014.png
| titletext = Some future reader, who may see the term, without knowing the history of it, may imagine that it had reference to some antiquated bridge of the immortal Poet, thrown across the silver Avon, to facilitate his escape after some marauding excursion in a neighbouring park; and in some Gentleman's Magazine of the next century, it is not impossible, but that future antiquaries may occupy page after page in discussing so interesting a matter. We think it right, therefore, to put it on record in the Oriental Herald that the 'Shakesperian Rope Bridges' are of much less classic origin; that Mr Colin Shakespear, who, besides his dignity as Postmaster, now signs himself 'Superintendent General of Shakesperian Rope Bridges', is a person of much less genius than the Bard of Avon. --The Oriental Herald, 1825
}}

==Explanation==
This [[:Category:New Year|New Year comic]] is to commemorate the {{w|New Year}} by giving us a view of the coming year (2014) from the past. The comic includes many quotes from the 1800s and early 1900s that speak to a time close to 2014. Many of them are for the twenty-first century in general, and only three mention a year that would be 2014 exactly. All but one of them is a prediction, yet some of these are quotes from fictional literature, and therefore are not true predictions. Words are in boldface to highlight the relevant content in the quote. The grey or non-bold text is non-essential to the point Randall is interested in, and only to be used to understand the context of the quote.

The title text refers to a certain British officer, Mr. Colin Shakespeare, who experimented and promoted the use of rope suspension bridges in India.[http://books.google.com/books?id=aZRPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA367] The reference to "The Bard of Avon" is a reference to {{w|William Shakespeare|Shakespeare (the playwright)}}, as {{w|River Avon (Warwickshire)|Avon}} is the river on which {{w|Stratford upon Avon}} is set, and is where the playwright was born and spent his youth. The author of this quote under the guise of eliminating the potential confusion that might result after decades or centuries have washed away the context, ironically and possibly vindictively, makes a point to note that the bridge is not named after the playwright, but Mr. Colin Shakespeare, whom he considers considerably less intelligent. This topic was previously covered in [[771: Period Speech]]. 

Two years before, another New Years comic with just the new years number as the title was released: [[998: 2012]]. But actually the content of this comic is more related to the comic coming out just before the 2012 comic: [[997: Wait Wait]], which is also a New Year comic, that took a look at what could happen in 2012, just as this one does for 2014... In 2016 another comic, with only the new year as the name theme, occurred again [[1624: 2016]]. For some reason this only seemed to happen in the even years, until [[1779: 2017]] was released, with [[1935: 2018]] being the next one.

The style of the comic is very similar to that of [[1227: The Pace of Modern Life]], which was released half a year earlier.

===Additional information===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Quote
! Author or publisher
! Year
! Years realized
! Description
|-
| "It's desirable '''every thing printed should be preserved,''' for we '''cannot now tell how useful it may become''' two centuries hence." 
| Christopher Baldwin
| 1834
| Not a prediction
| A good idea. Now, with Google Books, this can be done in an easier manner. Many books printed between that time and the widespread usage of higher-quality wood-pulp paper in the early 1990s are either no longer known to exist, are heavily damaged (mostly through deterioration — see {{w|slow fire}}) or are very scarce.
|-
| "I predict that a century hence the '''Canadian people''' will be '''the noblest specimens of humanity on the face of the earth'''"
| Rev John Bredin
| 1863
| Subjective
| Calling the citizens of any nation "the noblest" is difficult to quantify. Canada, in general, has a reputation as a safe, healthy and polite society, but, like any nation, they have both positive and negative qualities. The rest of the quote goes as follows: ''"all that was good in the Celt, the Saxon, the Gaul and other races, combining to form neither English, Irish, nor Welsh, but Canadians, who would take their place among the churches of Christendom and the nations of the earth."'' This religious prediction probably wasn't believed even by its author. It's only a harangue.
|-
| "In the twenty-first century '''mankind will subsist entirely upon jellies.'''"
| The Book Lover
| 1903
| Not realized
| Concentrates, which are gelatin like, form a large part of our food sources. Absurd if taken literally, but if he's talking about processed foods in general then he's not too far from the mark.
|-
| "The twenty-first century baby is destined to be rocked and cradled by electricity, warmed and coddled by electricity, perhaps fathered and mothered by electricity. '''Probably the only thing he will be left to do unaided will be to make love.'''"
| Mrs John Lane, The Fortnightly
| 1905
| 1960s - 1980s
| The parameters of this prediction are fairly ambiguous. Certainly, electricity impacts nearly every aspect of modern life, from the time most children are born. While child-rearing is very much a human activity (and parents today arguably spend more time and effort on children than in past era), electrically powered aids are everywhere. Children are indeed "rocked and cradled" in automatic swings, and "warmed and coddled" by means of electric heaters and incubators (in medical cases). In fact, most aspects of child-rearing can be aided by some electronic gadget or other.  As of 2019, no children have been born without biological mothers and fathers, but the process of ''in vitro'' fertilization, in which conception is mediated by technology, has been in use since 1978. As for making love unaided, Mrs. Lane may have underestimated the implications of technology, as there are now a wide range of devices and aides, electronic and otherwise, which are designed to assist in sexual gratification, both with and without partners. 
|-
| "To-day, in the city of New York, sixty-six different tongues are spoken. '''A century hence, there will probably be only one.'''"
| The American Historical Magazine
| 1907
| Not realized
| The number of languages spoken in New York City is believed to be greater than 100; some estimate as many as 800 languages are spoken there. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that in the greater New York metropolitan area, almost 7 million people speak a language other than English at home, including over 3.5 million who speak Spanish, 2 million who speak other Indo-European languages, 1 million who speak Asian or Pacific Island languages, and 300,000 who speak other languages. Also, New York City is the location of the headquarters of the United Nations, with diplomats from nearly every country in the world, and several official languages.
|-
| "I often think '''what interesting history we are making for the student of the twenty-first century.'''"
| William Carey Jones
| 1908
| 1900's to now
| Referring to the events that led to {{w|World War I}}. In 1908, {{w|Bosnian crisis|Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina}}. This led to the {{w|Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria|Sarajevo Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria}} in 1914 that is considered the starting event of the World War.
|-
| "China may be a '''great shoe market''' a decade or a century from now."
| Boot and Shoe Recorder
| 1914
| 1970's to now
| The publication in question appears only interested in footwear, while, in fact, China has become one of the world's largest economies, making it a huge consumer and producer of a full array of products. The range of "a decade or a century from now" makes for a pretty vague prediction. China didn't really qualify as a "great market" for western goods until trade barriers were removed in the 1970's.  This was well over a decade from the prediction, but well under a century.
|-
| "'''We cannot settle the problem,''' and I venture the prophecy that perhaps '''a century from now this same question may be brought before some future society and discussed very much as it is tonight.'''
| Dr. Barton C. Hirst (on abortion)
| 1914
| 2014
| Abortion is still heavily debated. Various societies have different levels of legal regulation, social stigma, and assumed moral implications, and even within societies there is often not a clear consensus. While laws have changed heavily over the last century, and attitudes have very likely shifted, the debate has certainly not ended, and arguably hasn't substantially changed. 
|-
| "By the twenty-first century '''we shall all be telepaths.'''"  
| Gumbril, a character in {{w|Aldous Huxley}}'s novel ''{{w|Antic Hay}}''
| 1923
| Not realized
| [http://books.google.com/books?id=pdXj2SZ1mT8C&pg=PA205]: "And it's my firm belief," said Gumbril Senior, adding notes to his epic, "that they [the birds] make use of some sort of telepathy, some kind of direct mind-to-mind communication between themselves. You can't watch them without coming to that conclusion." [...] "It's a faculty," Gumbril Senior went on, "we all possess, I believe. All we animals." [...] "By the twenty-first century, I believe, we shall all be telepaths. Meanwhile, these delightful birds have forestalled us."
|-
| "The physician of the twenty-first century… may even criticize the language of the times, and may find that '''some of our words have become as offensive to him as the term "lunatic" has become offensive to us.'''"
| Dr. C. Macfie Cambell
| 1924
| 1950's to now
| The word "lunatic" is still considered derogatory and because of that it would never be used in a clinical sense. He correctly predicts the trajectory of terms like "{{w|mentally retarded}}", itself adopted by his day to replace earlier terms for the intellectually disabled, such as "moron" and "imbecile", which had become pejorative. Soon enough the word "retard" joined them in that regard, and it now has largely been abandoned as a medical term. This cycle is a common one, known as (among other things) the "{{w|euphemism treadmill}}".
|-
| "Historians of the twenty-first century will look back with well-placed scorn on the '''shallow-minded days''' of the early twentieth century '''when football games and petting parties were considered the most important elements of a college education.'''" 
| Mary Eileen Ahern, Library Bureau
| 1926
| Subjective
| This item is likely included somewhat sardonically, because an emphasis on college athletics and wild parties remains an important part of the college experience for many people, and that emphasis is likely at least as common as it was 90 years ago, and probably condemned less often. They're not considered "the most important elements" by most people, either now or then, but many students consider them to be an essential part of being in college. There's little evidence that college students have become more studious or less inclined to have fun over the last century. 
|-
| "'''In the year A.D. 2014''' journalists will be writing on the centenary of the great war — '''that is, if there has not been a greater war.'''"
| F.J.M, The Journalist
| 1934
| 2014 and 1939 respectively
| At the time of this prediction, {{w|World War I}} was generally referred to as "The Great War". Five years after this prediction was made, {{w|World War II}} began, tragically fulfilling the condition of "a greater war". As bloody and brutal as World War I was, World War II was worse, by almost every possible metric. Journalists definitely wrote articles about World War I on its anniversary, and the war is still remembered and studied, but it has very certainly been overshadowed in most of the world by the "greater war". 
|}

==Transcript==
:(This is a series of quotes from various people of various timeframes. Each quote is followed by the author, the document of publication if applicable, and the year.)

:'''Notes from the past'''

:It's desirable '''every thing printed should be preserved,''' for we '''cannot now tell how useful it may become''' two centuries hence.
::Christopher Baldwin
:::'''1834'''

:I predict that a century hence the '''Canadian people''' will be '''the noblest specimens of humanity on the face of the earth'''
::Rev. John Bredin
:::'''1863'''

:In the twenty-first century '''mankind will subsist entirely upon jellies.'''
::''The Booklover''
:::'''1903'''

:The twenty-first century baby is destined to be rocked and cradled by electricity, warmed and coddled by electricity, perhaps fathered and mothered by electricity. '''Probably the only thing he will be left to do unaided will be to make love.'''
::Mrs. John Lane, ''The fortnightly''
:::'''1905'''

:To-day, in the city of New York, sixty-six different tongues are spoken. '''A century hence, there will probably be only one.'''
::''The American Historical Magazine''
:::'''1907'''

:I often think '''what interesting history we are making for the student of the twenty-first century.'''
::Willian Carey Jones
:::'''1908'''

:China may be a '''great shoe market''' a decade or a century from now.
::''Boot and Shoe Recorder''
:::'''1914'''

:'''We cannot settle the problem,''' and I venture the prophecy that perhaps '''a century from now this same question may be brought before some future society and discussed very much as it is tonight.'''
::Dr. Barton C. Hirst on the subject of '''abortion'''
:::'''1914'''

:By the twenty-first century I believe '''we shall all be telepaths.'''
::Gumbriel, character in ''Antic Hay''
:::'''1923'''

:The physician of the twenty-first century… may even criticize the language of the times, and may find that '''some of our words have become as offensive to him as the term "lunatic" has become offensive to us.'''
::Dr. C. Macfie Campbell
:::'''1924'''

:Historians of the twenty-first century will look back with well-placed scorn on the '''shallow-minded days''' of the early twentieth century '''when football games and petting parties were considered the most important elements of a college education.'''
::Mary Eileen Ahern, ''Library Bureau''
:::'''1926'''

:'''In the year A.D. 2014''' journalists will be writing on the centenary of the great war — '''that is, if there has not been a greater war.'''
::F.J.M, ''The Journalist''
:::'''1934'''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:New Year]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:American football]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|2014]]