Comments on: Artifacts from the Future

Artifacts from the Future

Rhaomi — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:42:42 -0800

For years, Wired magazine has tapped a bevy of designers and artists in the tech field to craft detailed visions of futuristic objects for a monthly showcase at the close of each issue. Now, after hinting as much in the July edition, it is clear that that the tradition of FOUND has been brought to an end. What better way to say goodbye to this whimsical feature than by taking a look back at the full archived run of the series?

(Note: Although FOUND has been a regular feature of Wired for many years, the magazine's website only began including it in its online archives in November 2004. Previous editions of FOUND are not indexed on wired.com, and are virtually impossible to find elsewhere online.) MM.YY - Artifact Title (Future year) 11.04 - Election Day (2012) 12.04 - Barf Bag (2047) 01.05 - House Call (near future) 02.05 - Taste Tester (2009) 03.05 - Insurance Form (2069) 04.05 - Horoscope (2056) 05.05 - Bumper Sticker (2012) 06.05 - Antivirus (2022) 07.05 - Nightstand (2017) 08.05 - Crossword (2019) [solution] 09.05 - Space Elevator (2032) 10.05 - Sharper Image (2012) 11.05 - Diaper (2024) 12.05 - Christmas Morning (2016) 01.06 - Mood Ring (2009) 02.06 - Love Tester (2015) 03.06 - MTA Route Map (2067) 04.06 - Tax Day (2021) 05.06 - Operation (2027) 06.06 - Bookstore (2021) [side view] 07.06 - Contact Lens (2020) 08.06 - Diet Cola (2019) 09.06 - Report Card (2018) 10.06 - Bluetooth (2019) 11.06 - Organ Farming (2015) 12.06 - Christmas Shopping (2017) 01.07 - Crayons (2013) 02.07 - Speeding Ticket (2054) 03.07 - Medicine Cabinet (2013) 04.07 - Bug Spray (ca. 2050) 05.07 - Reunion (2052) 06.07 - Fido Fusion (2016) 07.07 - Comic Book (2021) 08.07 - Fruit Stand (ca. 2020) 09.07 - Birthday (2079) 10.07 - Halloween (2015) 11.07 - Waste Management (ca. 2025) 12.07 - Responsibeer (2012) 01.08 - Windshield (2013) 02.08 - Tatoo (near future) 03.08 - Home Shopping (ca. 2016) 04.08 - Risk (2027) 05.08 - Smithsonian (2096) 06.08 - Wine Spectrometer (ca. 2020) 07.08 - "The Final Found" (2018) Top FOUND contributors include: Chris Baker - senior editor, Wired Laura Moorehead - contributing editor, Wired Sean Hamilton Alexander - designer Joshua Davis - web designer Patrick Di Justo - contributing editor, Wired

By: mrballistic

mrballistic — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:53:55 -0800

i'm sad to see this go. FOUND was a whimsical highlight of every issue.

By: Malla

Malla — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:54:22 -0800

I noticed this yesterday when I flipped through the new issue. I have to admit, my first reaction was also to hate on Sony. Displacement!

By: DU

DU — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:58:23 -0800

Aw man. That was like the only part of WIRED with any spark or creativity.

By: plexi

plexi — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:03:18 -0800

The future wasn't meant to last.

By: drezdn

drezdn — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:21:21 -0800

Between the loss of "Found" and things like their environmental issue, Wired's ear has become almost so tin that they could sell it for scrap. I wouldn't be surprised if they put out a "Why DRM is awesome" article in the near future.

By: retronic

retronic — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:44:07 -0800

"Found" made my dollar-an-issue subscription to Wired worthwhile.

By: martinX's bellbottoms

martinX's bellbottoms — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:45:44 -0800

Wired magazine gets lamer. Film at 11.

By: intermod

intermod — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:10:14 -0800

Well, it sounds like I timed the lapsing of my Wired subscription perfectly -- last issue this month. Hey, it was a gift! Great post, thanks Rhaomi for putting it together.

By: humannaire

humannaire — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:58:24 -0800

Between the loss of "Found" and things like their environmental issue, Wired's ear has become almost so tin that they could sell it for scrap. I wouldn't be surprised if they put out a "Why DRM is awesome" article in the near future. Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of WIRED: "Is DRM evil?"

By: sciatica

sciatica — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:24:29 -0800

By: tapeguy

tapeguy — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:43:42 -0800

Found is lost.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:08:39 -0800

Wired blows. It's essentially porno for gadget nerds now. I liked it better when it was porno for techno-Utopians living in the inflating tech bubble.

By: Kadin2048

Kadin2048 — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:31:59 -0800

Damn. That was always one of the only reliably cool things in Wired. Their articles are hit or miss; the good ones tend to make it worth the $12 a year that it costs, but some of the misses can be real stinkers. "Found" was a nice bit of Dot Com nostalgia, which is a major part of the magazine in general — I'd be more careful cutting it out, if I were them.

By: Artw

Artw — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:51:19 -0800

The long boom will go on forever!

By: delmoi

delmoi — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:59:08 -0800

Actually wired did do an article predicting the internet bubble collapse a few years out, and a few years before their 'long boom' article as well.

By: unmake

unmake — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:49:11 -0800

It's been downhill ever since they went monthly.

By: ottereroticist

ottereroticist — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:25:49 -0800

Great post -- like inhaling a whole pile of comic books in one sitting.

By: brundlefly

brundlefly — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:36:39 -0800

Aw...

By: cccorlew

cccorlew — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:38:35 -0800

Like "Outside," a once great mag becomes a catalog for crap.

By: mrbill

mrbill — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:57:57 -0800

Wired really went downhill after the Conde Nast buyout, and things like the bundled-or-highly-promoted "Fashion Rocks" crap. Who in their right mind thought that readers of a technological magazine would give a rat's ass about a TV fashion show? I miss the golden days of Wired in the early 90s; my favorite article had to be the one they ran about tunnel exploring under college campuses. Nowdays, the magazine is barely worth the $10/year just to serve as bathroom reading material. Counted the pages of an issue a few months ago and it came out to something like 65-70% ads (full and half pages) versus actual content (articles, etc).

By: davemee

davemee — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:39:31 -0800

Winners don't do nootropics.

By: davemee

davemee — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:52:31 -0800

Rhaomi, great list. Thanks for putting that together!

By: Happy Dave

Happy Dave — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:47:42 -0800

I do (did) love 'Found', even if the examples of future artifacts always seemed to come from an extrapolated super-future where hi-tech and disposable consumer products have continued to rattle away up their exponential curve of growth and advancement. God forbid Wired should ever hypothesise about how simple technologies might be a touch more important than Grow-Your-Own RoboDog kits in a resource-poor future. Sad to see it go, but this is a great round up of millenial future-optimism.

By: boombot

boombot — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:48:11 -0800

At least they put in some thought and replaced it with a new feature of true quality. I mean, what would it say about the minds behind Wired if they just dumped the back page altogether and ended the issue with some extra ads?

By: Big_B

Big_B — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:24:36 -0800

I think I have only read Wired while in a doctors office or somesuch place, but always enjoyed flipping through it. I don't recall these "Found" pieces, but a few of them are really great. The taste tester one is awesome. All great things come to an end I guess.

By: Araucaria

Araucaria — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:15:38 -0800

The first archived link (11.04) was the first FOUND I ever paid attention to, as I happen to have some interest in election systems and secure voting. It was doubly ironic given the electronic voting goofups in Ohio and Florida that year. The genius of the piece is that it is a short speculation on how the unremarkable ordinary of the future might be extraordinary today. Not a new idea, but succinctly expressed.

By: cashman

cashman — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:56:55 -0800

Bioluminescent Periwinkle! I love that.

By: sleeping bear

sleeping bear — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:35:19 -0800

I'm also bummed to see this feature go. This is/was my favorite ongoing feature of Wired, the one good thing I could expect even if the rest of the issue was crap. Is there any good reason they canceled it other than to add more advertising space?

By: cortex

cortex — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:24:31 -0800

Email is awesome. Check this out:

For some time now I have been collecting the "Found" feature year-by-year at my blog, and coincidentally, just as Rhaomi was pointing out the unavailability of pre-Nov '04 editions online, I put full 2004 set out there. (I scanned the print editions to get the missing pieces.) Earlier years are forthcoming. Cheers, Stuart Candy

You rule, Stuart. Thanks for the heads up.