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Tech NewsThe Mostly Online ‘Space Kingdom’ of Asgardia Attempts Democracy
The self-proclaimed “space kingdom” of Asgardia is currently limited to a glitchy website and a satellite orbiting the Earth about the size of a loaf of bread. But Asgardia wants to be much more than just another micronation: It aims to join the United Nations and eventually send its citizens to lower Earth orbit where … Continued
Charles Rollet -
Tech NewsWild Wild Country is the Best Documentary About a Homicidal 1980s Oregon Sex Cult That You’ll See All Year
The Rajneesshee cult started building their utopian city of the future in rural Oregon during the early 1980s. And while it all began with peace and love, it ended with attempted murder, the exploitation of thousands of homeless people, and cult leaders who ordered the poisoning of an entire town by spraying salad bars with … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsThe Largest Bioterrorism Attack in US History Was An Attempt to Swing An Election
In September of 1984, at least 751 people got violently sick in The Dalles, Oregon. At first, no one in the town could figure out why. Those sickened had all eaten at ten different restaurants in the area, but local health officials couldn’t find a common food that may have caused their illness. A year … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Now Y Combinator Wants to Build a City Because Every Other Tech Company Is Doing It
Cities are so trendy right now that every big tech company wants to build its own. Zappos did it in Downtown Vegas. Amazon is kind of doing it in a Seattle. Alphabet is probably doing it somewhere soon. And now Y Combinator wants in on the fun, too, with a plan to build some kind … Continued
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Tech News
Colt’s Original Gun Factory and Its Quirky Utopian Village Are Rotting
At one point in time, Samuel Colt firearms company held the largest private armory in the world. Colt’s original factory and the utopian village that flanked it (a.k.a. Coltsville) was like the Google campus of the 1800s. Now, it sits in ruin—because guns. It’s a shame. Atlas Obscura’s Luke Spencer recently visited Coltsville, where rotting … Continued
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io911 Ways The Future Could Turn Out Differently Than You Expect
Many of us, owing to an intuitive sense of where technological and social progress are taking us, have a preconceived notion of what the future will look like. But as history has continually shown, the future doesn’t always go according to plan. Here are 11 ways the world of tomorrow may not unfold the way … Continued
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Tech News
Oregon Was Founded As a Racist Utopia
When Oregon was granted statehood in 1859, it was the only state in the Union admitted with a constitution that forbade black people from living, working, or owning property there. It was illegal for black people even to move to the state until 1926. Oregon’s founding is part of the forgotten history of racism in … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Blood on the Tracks in Pullman: Chicagoland’s Failed Capitalist Utopia
In 1880 industrialist George Pullman set out to build a capitalist utopia. The town of Pullman was established just outside of Chicago as a model community—a place that was supposed to produce both happy workers and a nice return for Pullman’s investors. It turned out to be a miserable failure. And conditions in the town … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsThe Man Who Fought the Synanon Cult and Won
Paul Morantz knew Synanon would try to kill him. He just didn’t know how or when. You probably don’t know the name Paul Morantz. That’s a shame. And if you know about Morantz at all it’s likely because of what was done to him rather than what he accomplished in his career as a cult-busting … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
That Time Two Americans Won a Contest to Build Utopia in Australia
Eleri Harris has a new comic on Medium about the utopian plan for Australia’s capital city of Canberra. Two idealistic American architects, Walter Burley Griffin and his wife Marion Mahoney Griffin, won a competition to design what they believed could be the greatest planned city in the history of the world. As utopian visions are … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
That New Utopia Show Is a Dumb Dystopia But Obviously That’s the Point
Throughout history, people have tried to build many different versions of Utopia. Sometimes it’s a charismatic leader ushering people toward a righteous path with a common goal. Other times, groups of like-minded people come together to democratically work toward a common goal. And sometimes it’s just a bunch of knuckleheads on a reality show. If … Continued
By Matt Novak -
io9Books & Comics
A 400 Year Old Utopia That Includes Polygamy And Eugenics
City of the Sun by Tommaso Campanella is one of the earliest utopian novels — and one of the rarest, since only 20 copies exist. One of those has just come into the library at UC Riverside, where you can read it if you have California ID. (And read Latin.) Completed in 1602 during Campanella’s … Continued
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Tech News
Broadacre City: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unbuilt Suburban Utopia
Frank Lloyd Wright was arrogant, stubborn, and brilliant. But above all, he was a shrewd businessman who understood the importance of spectacle in keeping his business afloat. Wright put on many shows over the course of his lifetime, but arguably no performance was greater than his utopian plan to create the perfect community: Broadacre City. … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsSynanon’s Sober Utopia: How a Drug Rehab Program Became a Violent Cult
In 1970, George Lucas needed dozens of actors with shaved heads for his sci-fi dystopian movie THX 1138. He had trouble filling the roles at first, since so few actresses wanted to cut their locks, but Lucas eventually found the extras he needed in a strange utopian community where everyone worshipped sobriety and expressed solidarity … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
I Drank a $200 Bottle of Sam Adams For Science
To some, beer is something you just swill down while watching football, and flavor is a distant after-thought. But others will sip and savor a beer, picking it apart like a connoisseur of fine wines. Those that comfortably sit in that second category won’t think twice about dropping some hard-earned money on a bottle of … Continued
By Brent Rose -
io9The 9 Worst Utopias Ever Created
A “utopia” is a fictional place where everything is perfect; it’s supposed to give us a goal to aspire to, a place that we hope we — or maybe even the entire human race — can one day reach. But not all perfect societies are created equal. In fact, here are nine utopias that actually … Continued
By Rob Bricken -
Tech News
How Upton Sinclair Turned The Jungle Into a Failed New Jersey Utopia
In 1906, novelist Upton Sinclair founded a cooperative community in Englewood, New Jersey, not far outside New York. It would exist for just six months before being completely consumed by fire, but Sinclair would spend the rest of his life dreaming about his time there. They called it the Helicon Home Colony. And despite sex … Continued
By Matt Novak -
io9
Technology has proved it can transform the world overnight — so why not be optimistic?
Is optimism just a crazy notion, or does technological innovation totally justify our faith? In the comments on our article about optimistic stories that could still come true, commenter Corpore-metal points out some of the ways that technology has transformed the world — even if we’re never going to have a utopia. I’d say that … Continued
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io9
Alastair Reynolds’ next trilogy: An optimistic saga that takes place after climate change
Everybody wants more optimistic science fiction, but the near future is full of nightmare scenarios like global climate change. How do we get around that? Alastair Reynolds has one idea: a 22nd century saga set after the climate’s already changed. In a way, it’s not too different than what Gene Roddenberry did with Star Trek: … Continued
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io920 careers that will make the future less dystopian
The future is a beautiful place – and you can help make it that way, while picking up a paycheck at the same time. Here are 20 jobs that will help the human race avoid dystopia! We all want to make a difference in the world, and it would be awesome to be able to … Continued
Charlie Jane Anders and Kelly Faircloth