1974: IDEAS for the YEAR 2000 | Blue Peter | Past Predictions | BBC Archive

James Burke and the Blue Peter team announced the winners of the Year 2000 competition in which children sent in their ideas for the future.
The team share their thoughts on a selection of innovative entries including a cloud machine, a recycling dishwasher and a submarine city.
Clip taken from Blue Peter, originally broadcast on BBC One, Monday 18 February, 1974.
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[@eric-is2ix]

Today is 2024. My idea for 2050 is maybe we can have affordable housing like in 1974.

[@holydiver73]

Supply and demand my friend, the more people who come here, the higher the price of houses go. If we drastically cut down on immigration, you may get your wish.

[@eric-is2ix]

@@holydiver73 i'm from a country where a lot of people BECOME immigrants. Among the highest in the world year in and year out. But the prices are here go up at similar rates as the US, Canada, Australia and other top nations. The supply and demand argument is BS. It's the whole world's economy and the poor leadership of every nation.

[@mit6635]

​@@holydiver73Prices are high because property developers drag their feet to limit supply, because more people see property as an investment opportunity than as housing, because so-called govt "help to buy" schemes actually inflate prices, because of a lack of rentals in the UK, and dozens more reasons.

[@holydiver73]

@@mit6635now look at the amount of green belt land they are now building on to build more houses for our ever growing population and then say that the supply and demand argument is BS. There will be no such thing as a countryside soon, all cities will just blend into each other which is devastating for our eco system that lefties are always bleating on about.

[@fatherofthenoo]

@holydiver73 Have you got any evidence to back up that claim? Or are we going to stick with the same argument the Nazis used, and blame foreigners?

[@cbwavy]

I would LOVE a follow up segment, where the BBC catches up with these kids now, and gets their perspective on how the world has and has not changed since 1974.

[@petejenkins5574]

I entered that competition. I got a letter from Blue Peter to thank me for entering. My idea was putting a hydroelectric generator in the sewage system for free electric. I currently work in Engineering (Electrical engineering, not civil engineering/sewerage :-)

[@malcolmfox7768]

I’ve still got the letter from Biddy Baxter and photo signed by James Burke. Malcolm Fox, now a grandfather… Wont be long before I’ll be needing that invalid chair myself

[@nibunibu4254]

I like the way James Burke doesn't patronize the children or their ideas. Just seems to take them seriously and explains how they might work.

[@stephenchappell7512]

We've become used to narcissistic presenters but as we can see that wasn't always the case

[@hopebgood]

That's what I liked about being a kid in the 70's. I liked the older presenters that were fun and informative but didn't talk down to me. I used to hate Why Don't You that was presented by a lot of snotty kids my own age.

[@ossiemac]

Yes, no 'shouty man' presenters back then.

[@Coolcarting]

@@stephenchappell7512 Narcissistic presenters? What? Do you even know the definition of narcissistic?

[@pasha12343]

Very true

[@Larry]

The last one was good, not only did he predict flat-screen TVs, but also the internet and airpods!

[@algomaone121]

Also predicted were live stream chat groups!

[@thedave7760]

Flat screens in the year 2000 weren't really very flat. The closest thing we had was plasma which were about 4 inches thick and weighed a ton and consumed a lot of electricity. Most people were buying huge 16:9 standard definition CRT's which also used a lot of electricity, weighed a ton but were about 2 feet deep.

[@Larry]

@@thedave7760 I had a Plasma TV in 2005, the thing got so hot we had to have the windows open, even in the middle of winter!

[@MIKandJEAN]

Part of his dream came true a year or so later when Nintendo came up with the LCD Game & Watch systems. 😁

[@Angela-kc5ui]

And the 8 year old girl Predicted the euro

[@clavichord]

The flatscreen TV and the prediction of European money by 2000 were uncannily accurate for 1974. Before it was named Euro, in the 1990s the planned currency was often referred to as E.M.U. so that was accurate too. Amazing!

[@r4zi3lgintoro65]

also cleaning robots and rf car keys

[@clavichord]

@@r4zi3lgintoro65 That's true

[@ianstoys13mgs]

The dishwaher / recycler I see as a 3D printer

[@ronald3836]

Originally the Euro was going to be called ECU or Ecu (European Currency Unit). But because medieval France used to have a coin called Ecu, Germany was unhappy, so a new name had to be found.

[@r4zi3lgintoro65]

@@ronald3836 only shows that Germany always had bad first ideas

[@julianfp1952]

A few people have commented on the flat-screen TV (with wireless headphones) but there was another concept in that winning entry that was incredibly prescient - the controls at the top of the TV to allow communication with the broadcast studio but also various communities so that winner was also to an extent predicting the emergence of social media. Very impressive. And here I am in 2024 writing in the comments section of a KZbin video. Whoever submitted that entry way back in 1974 was a worthy winner I would say.

[@kevinh96]

European money, flat screen TVs with wireless headphones, housecleaning robots. Surprisingly accurate to be fair.

[@pault8470]

They missed mass immigration and knife crime

[@DyenamicFilms]

As a kid in the 70's and 80's, I remember when the year 2000 seemed so far away and was so "futuristic". It seemed to take an eternity to get here. Now the year 2000 seems like it was just yesterday.

[@hopebgood]

I know mate! Tell me about it...

[@monkee1969]

wasn't just yesterday - it was a quarter century ago. The same period between 1974 -2000 - 2024 (almost)

[@SirRandom]

I remember reading George Orwell's "1984" in the early 70's and thinking that was way off in the future :)

[@garydavid1788]

... Time accelerates as we get older , turbo kicks in round about your late 50s.

[@Simon-xc5oy]

Yes. I was four in 1974. Tom Baker started as Doctor Who, the Goodies were on Tv. We made our own cars and motorbikes still. And as a kid in infants school as it was called back then, I expected us to be living on the moon by 2000. For at least the Americans to have a base there. And for there to be flying cars, and robots and cool computers. And the only thing that came true were the cool computers. And life in general for everyone in the Uk is exactly the same patter as it was 50 years ago. Crap. Get up, go to work, come home, watch Tv, go to bed. Struggle to pay for food, heating and houses as you dont get paid enough and get taxed too much. So lots of progress in some areas and none at all in most others. No flying cars, no moonbase, no massive breakthroughs of science, no discovery of God etc....just the same stuff, but a bit prettier....

[@hilaryepstein6013]

Exactly 50 years later I'd like to congratulate these children on their ingenuity and imagination. Some of these ideas have indeed come true and we tend to take them for granted now but in 1974 they would have been very futuristic.

[@asensibleyoungman2978]

They're in their 50s and 60s now.

[@nigelwylie01]

It would be nice to hear from those prize winners in this chat.

[@Andy-wx4wx]

Agree, well, they were X Generation as well.......

[@famicomplicated]

All these kids are now between 57 and 65 years old, I hope some of them see this video and comment here! If you recognise your parents/grandparents names, be sure to tell them about this! Props to the person running this channel to publish this exactly 50 years to the day, well done!

[@ajil2766]

Hi I'm Steven Bostock and I like eat pizza ✊

[@open_water2411]

Startlingly accurate predictions. What a breath of fresh air the old TV formats were. TV doesn’t have to be dumb.

[@davewalker7126]

I sent in a drawing of a washing machine that would also dry the clothes. Not like todays version though, it had robot arms that pegged it on the line and folded it afterwards.

[@nelad]

I predict that all council houses will be sold off and the receipts will not be used to build new ones. Instead low taxes will result in everyone having enough money to build their own housing pod on the moon

[@lauraarcher1730]

😂👍

[@mikeg2939]

Made more ridiculous by the fact that you were 42 at the time😊

[@davewalker7126]

@939That makes me 92. I feel good for my age

[@davidhuggan6315]

You did predict Wallace and Gromit's inventions though! 😊

[@bonnetdedouche437]

So the girl who invented the wallet is actually Nostradamus? Predicted the Euro, Robot vacuums, Soylent Green, keyless car entry. Blimey. 😮

[@morris2450]

I was intrigued as well

[@ronald3836]

Soylent Green is a 1973 movie. But I agree these proposals are surprisingly realistic.

[@FenceThis]

she even predicted that in 2000 Denmark would still remain outside of the EMU, as she omitted them from the map

[@christopherflux6254]

Maybe she actually invented all those things.

[@listerofsmeg884]

Amazing 😅

[@Parknest]

Amazing how a lot of these predictions have come true. RIP John Noaks, Shep & Petra. James Burke is a legend.

[@caroletraynor8763]

Don't forget the siamese cat.

[@tooleyheadbang4239]

@@caroletraynor8763 Jason?

[@caroletraynor8763]

@tooleyheadbang4239 Yes, it was. Lovely looking cat.

[@old.not.too.grumpy.]

My idea of old pit slag tips being turned onto recreation parks was one of the drawings shown as John did his introduction, I was so proud. But I didn't win a prize 😢

[@LungsMcGee]

That might be something to do with the Aberfan disaster being only 8 years earlier.

[@old.not.too.grumpy.]

@LungsMcGee the reason I sent it was because where I lived, they had been experimenting on one of the tips with different grasses. They were also landscaping one of the tips ready to turn into a hill. I saw a post on here the other day. The caption under the photo said a view across the beautiful Derbyshire countryside. Made me laugh. The hill with a woodland on the photo was a pit tip when I was a childs

[@LungsMcGee]

@@old.not.too.grumpy. I wonder what the state of old slag heaps is now. And I wonder if anyone in 1974 could've predicted the state of the coal mining industry in England in the year 2000. I'm a coal miner now in Australia. Good on ya for having a go though. I probably watched that episode.

[@old.not.too.grumpy.]

@LungsMcGee you can't tell the pits we're ever there. Some places are now tourist areas like I predicted

[@krognak]

The quality of some of these drawings, or should I say fully-fledged *diagrams* is astounding for their ages. The 3D perspectives, precision lines and perfectionism is very impressive and shows a great deal of care went into one's work.

[@jdgreen5422]

Either that, or their Dad worked in Engineering 😀

[@mbvideoselection]

​​@@jdgreen5422It was taught to pretty much all kids back then, it wasn't anything special. We were expected to be intelligent and quick on the uptake, because in those days you had to to get on. These days, you have to play dumb in order to not show anybody up in order to get on.

[@mikeonfreeserve2926]

James Burke........the voice of science

[@RobertOrgRobert]

The year 2000 has now come & gone ! How time flies is incredible .

[@shamilton2556]

They looked at every single one ? That's dedication!

[@depniff]

Cue Roy Castle.

[@eric-is2ix]

There wasn't much to do 50 years ago unless you had a car to go places

[@shamilton2556]

I guess, If you wanna be the best.

[@Tiggysmum]

@@eric-is2ixespecially on a Sunday wen everything was closed.

[@ianrogerburton1670]

The programme´s editor, Biddy Baxter, saw to it that every single fan letter to "Blue Peter" was personally answered. I built up quite a collection of such replies in the late 1960s/ early 1970s, with my favourite treasure being a signed postcard of the presenters

[@chuckmaddison2924]

That was stunningly accurate. The cloud blower hit the spot. Here in Western Australia we have just had a few days around 46c with a town in the northern part of the state 49.9c. So some nice cool rain would be nice.

[@cbwavy]

Its so cool knowing that some of these things eventually came true. Videos like this really help me appreciate what we take for granted.

[@mossfoster5317]

All the drawings from the older children are such high quality at 11-13 years old. I'm certain thats a skill that is getting lost

[@Michael-zy5cl]

They had talented mums in those days.

[@diegoferreiro9478]

@@Michael-zy5cl not necessary, I am a little bit younger (born in 1970) and I remember there were quite a few talented boys at my class. Maybe 12 out of 36 we were good at drawing, 4 of those were really good and one was outstanding, and we didn't have to resort to 'our mums'.

[@ianrogerburton1670]

I would love to see more of these clips of "Blue Peter´s" Golden Age (1967-78). Thx for sharing this, BBC !

[@michaell5038]

Exactly, when the bbc was respected as the best broadcaster in the world.

[@ianrogerburton1670]

@@michaell5038 And, sadly, we thought things could only get even better. How wrong we were !

[@DaraM73]

I loved the dish recycler machine. The E.M.U currency will never catch on 😅

[@porkyprimecut1834]

They eventually called it the Euro and it did catch on. Very popular in more advanced countries.

[@cigmorfil4101]

​@@porkyprimecut1834 Whoosh...

[@mrlotusmic]

That picture saying ‘now everyone is happy’… we really aren’t at the moment are we. Probably the most disappointing period I’ve known. You can feel it in people.

[@ronald3836]

Get out more? Why wouldn't you be happy in your personal life?

[@northernsnow6982]

We didn't build the cloud machine yet, so we can't obtain happiness until that happens. Duh. Also, do something for yourself to make yourself happy. Stop waiting for things in the world to make you happy. Some people are happy sitting around all day, others can't stand staying still. The devices of the world can't offer blanket happiness, for individual peoples happiness.

[@moominmay]

Well I imagine in that hypothetical scenario those people who’ve been positively impacted by that technology are a little happier than they previously were lol. Anyway what is happiness?

[@Simon-xc5oy]

@@moominmay Not being miserable!!! Duh...

[@moominmay]

@@Simon-xc5oy it’s subjective but I guess that went over your head DUH!!!

[@tonybmw5785]

God this makes me feel old I can remember watching this on the telly!

[@MrOlgrumpy]

It would be great to see these kids return to a revisit of the show in the present.

[@simmadpaul2880]

The holy trinity of Blue Peter. I was watching this as a 6 year old. Happy Days.

[@chrisball864]

So accurate! I loved Blue Peter. I was 16 when this was broadcast. This was one of the more informative and engaging programmes for children back in the day. Too bad today's kids are more interested in Tik Tok & vapes

[@robertfish4052]

Noakesey. You the man. We need more of these men.

[@JasmineSurrealVideos]

I was impressed by all of them, and some were uncannily accurate like the window that shows different views like the Eiffel Tower, as there is today a company that have this available (not sure if commercially as yet), I saw it on YT recently and it's sort of like a large flatscreen tv installed where the window is so you can change the view. Be great for people who live in depressing areas with no beach or greenery. I wonder if future inventors were watching this or anyone of those kids grew up to be a inventor.

[@spidyman8853]

Also called VR (Virtual Reality)

[@daviniarobbins9298]

Takes Google Streetview to the next level. Take a virtual holiday in the comfort of your own home.

[@fburton8]

“taking from people who have plenty and giving it to people who have very little” How that idea has fallen out of favour! Inequality was at an all time low in 1970s UK and now it’s getting to be as extreme as it has ever been in modern times.

[@holydiver73]

What we make, socialists take.

[@johntomlinson6849]

“taking from people who have plenty and giving it to people who have very little” sounds like theft to me....

[@Erdnase23]

@@holydiver73no, you’re thinking of Tories: socialism and state handouts for the rich, crippling backs to the wall capitalism for the poor.

[@fburton8]

@@johntomlinson6849 Nah, just taxes. Where would we be without _any_ redistribution?

[@jpcaretta8847]

The problem is that people who cant even feed chilfren, even less educate and evolve bred like rabbits ! Result, there are too many people depleting natural ressources. When you give someting, you have TO TAKE IT from the people who MADE IT ! China implemented a one child policy and succeded.

[@DaveMuirhead]

I was 12 in 1974 and vaguely remember this. Looking back, a lot of those ideas were quite prophetic.

[@trytellingthetruth.2068]

I too was 12 in 74. Ain't it a pain being 62 now.

[@MrColnagoCLX]

John Noakes sound absolutely pissed!

[@hopebgood]

Such a great vid 😀 I always loved BP and what amazing suggestions from some really thoughtful, intelligent kids. It's always good to be reminded of James Burke and I love the way Shep is just stretched out asleep on the floor at the end.

[@flanflinger37]

I remember entering this competition!!!

[@benathan6239]

Do you remember what your predictions were?

[@flanflinger37]

@@benathan6239I think was some sort of train seat that included a phone and tv screen

[@andrewdaley5480]

​Just googled when the first tv screens were fitted in the UK on trains and it was 2010 you were not far off. 🇬🇧 👍

[@davidevans3227]

we used to have an intercom had a very very long wire which i didn't see there.. we used it to speak to my father, at the top of the house in his study to say dinner is ready... 🙂 brilliant thankyou for sharing this.

[@daviddixey]

I had them too. Me and my mate used to hide it in the garden hedge and talk to people as they went past. Sad :)

[@davidevans3227]

@@daviddixey but it's great memories.. thankyou..

[@davidevans3227]

@@daviddixey me and my sister would take them down and try and run and sneak about as if they were walkie talkies! tricky with the wire but we had fun.. that's what i tell myself now.. 🙂

[@mikeonfreeserve2926]

We called pater with a dinner gong. Early form of wireless. 😮

[@davidevans3227]

@@mikeonfreeserve2926 next door they used to use an old hand bell, like for break- time and lunch in school 🙂

[@dean6816]

_"Let's all meet up in the year 2000"_

[@plowe6751]

3:30 The window with a scenery of your choice was seen in the 2015 scene from Back to the Future 2 (1989).

[@TheMightyPanthro]

This is the equivalent of a bunch of kids from 1998 predicting what 2024 would be like. Makes you appreciate how the future really isnt that far away.

[@IanFoot-sl1lp]

Not really, because kids in 1998 had home computers, games consoles and internet access. Mobile phones were really common and early flat screen TVs also existed. Back in 1974, no-one had a computer at home, or a mobile phone or really any technology beyond a tv, radio and vinyl record player. So kids back then would have needed far more imagination to come up with these ideas.

[@robstammers7149]

The video quality is very very good given its age, great to see and hear James' voice. The voice activated door opener is amazing for sight. Regards Rob.

[@ekurisona663]

incredible predictions! ❤ it!

[@MrDavey2010]

Many of these suggestions are foretelling the future!

[@NR-rv8rz]

The flat screen with the apps on top look eerily like many TVs 50 years later .

[@davidpayne3938]

I was seven years old at the time of this original broadcast and I know I would had been watching Blue Peter but I certainly wouldn't have come up with such clever ideas, all of winners had lots fantastic future thought that have impacted our society today. I loved all of them but I particularly liked the little girl that recognized climate change in other countries with the cloud sucker to help others in our precious world.🌎 Well done Blue Peter for such a creatiive competition ..❤😉

[@ronald3836]

Nothing to do with climate change. There have always been areas with droughts and areas with lots of rain.

[@Dan23_7]

Climate change 😂 The world has been through different changes for eons.

[@kickedinthecalfbyacow7549]

@@Dan23_7so even a children’s to show from the 1970s can trigger you😂😂😂😂

[@Andy-wx4wx]

I was six and would have been watching this as well as Magpie, Play School and fingerbobs!

[@railwaystationmaster]

The really best invention has yet to be created 50 years on , love and peace on earth , respect for the planet and all its natural inhabitants , an end to wars dictatorships violence , hunger , and disease , so clearly that Blue Peter Gold badge award will be doubtless locked away for another 50 years ,oh well luckily most of us filled with naive optimism back in 74 will be dead by then so it won't really be an issue.

[@pjmoseley243]

excellent presenters of that time where are theyr now, their style was so grown up. love and peace everyone.

[@jbaldwin1970]

My door also eventually opens if my friends shout loud enough

[@megansfo]

This is very British! I was 24 then, a young artist showing and selling my paintings in Bay Area galleries. The high tech boom was just beginning in California, and my husband to be who I wouldnt meet for 9 years was already a programmer. Just a few years later, he'd join Microsoft. So, in a few places, the futuee was near.

[@shyamdevadas6099]

This is fascinating! Even though some of these kids may have missed on the actual marketability of the products, ALL OF THEM ACCURATELY VISUALIZED THE SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES AND SOCIAL CHANGES needed to pull off their ideas. Theft-proof door = voice/face/fingerprint recognition. Wool-covered cow = genetic engineering. Cloud-blower = cloud seeding & ionospheric weather alteration. Changing video window = flat screen and thin screen video displays. Space wallet = the EU, common currency, compact food supplements, classroom computers, HOUSE CLEANING ROBOT, Neurolink. Recycling dishwasher = plastic recycling, 3D printing, home-based manufacturing. Ocean city = solar energy, large scale exploration, sea-based cities. Invalid chair = sophisticated micro electronics, stair climbing wheelchairs, battery powered mobility devices, enablement for the handicapped. Two-sided flat screen TV = Plasma/LCD/LED display, micro electronics, smart TVs, GUI-based computers, the Internet, text chat, wireless headsets, realtime audience response. It just goes to show that all innovation begins with imagination and that the least fettered imaginers are children. I love this! (In 1974, I was 9 years old.)

[@martybhoy72]

The last prediction was so accurate. At first I thought he'd drawn a smart tv. I've seen 2 screen tvs on line so even that is accurate.

[@kickedinthecalfbyacow7549]

I’m so ready for HD!

[@jaymac7203]

This was 2 years before I was even born 👶 😭😭 lol I loved Blue Peter as a kid 😊

[@steveneastland4128]

Two of those hit the nail on the head

[@haydenharris3059]

I was 16 😊The winner was so close with future social communications, amazing.

[@McWaffles86]

Voice recognition idea in 1974

[@olavwilhelm6843]

ohhh please you british ....voice recognition was already "used" in the Starship EnterpriseTV Series ...big Deal

[@oingpla]

Still waiting for the Lunch Pills.. ✌🏼❤🌍

[@jbaldwin1970]

They are indeed a thing. They’re called sweets.

[@2Sorts]

I remember as a kid I worked out that I would be 31 years and 4 days old when the year 2000 clicked over. It was approx how old my parents were at the time and it seemed an absolute age away. They’re both 80 now! And I’m 55 as of now (March 2024)

[@Sourdust]

This is almost precisely me; 31 and 5 months, roughly! I still have that strong mental image of the "future" me, at the unimaginably old age of 32. I wonder if I'll ever actually get there..?

[@grahamwhite4583]

Quite spooky some of them. 50 years ago!!!!! Bugger, where's my life gone??

[@MACHOO179]

Blue Peter's best bit was the Elephant urinating on camera and the handler slipping in it 😂

[@ronnieparkerscott6223]

Amazing!😊

[@MIKandJEAN]

James Burke is a legend, a shame NASA never asked him if he wanted a ride in the Space Shuttle!

[@keltiquewood]

I was 2 years old in 1974!

[@garethsmyth6593]

Listening back to these programs is absolutely amazing. I was born six years later in 1980. Looking ahead to the next 20 or 30 years, I wonder will there be motor cars on the road for the likes of myself who is blind and therefore are not able to see to drive? I think in some places they are working on driverless cars. Imagine a talking car which t old you what to do. Even over the last 15 years technology for those of us who are disabled hav improved immensely. e

[@user-pi8ju7om5i]

The great James Burke putting in an appearance too.

[@letstalkcriterion]

Incredibly accurate predictions in parts these kids were so clever.

[@WhistlerUK]

The kid who won also appears to have discovered time travel.

[@tortysoft]

Odd that the colour is missing. How come? Blue Peter was colour by 1974..What a splendid programe!

[@drkresearch2945]

The Australian 1974 floods are still to this day etched into the memories and used in comparisons.

[@ronald3836]

Aha, that explains why Australia was mentioned. I thought why not just Britain.

[@FenceThis]

@@ronald3836most British families back then had some uncle, sister, nephew or more distant relative whom had gone and tried their luck down under. Guess they still do..

[@cmartin_ok]

Don't forget that in the early 1960's, Gerry Anderson predicted video calls and smart watches in "Thunderbirds". Interesting to see some of these children's predictions come true, though

[@gillianm9367]

😊was 5 yrs old in 1974, even then I strongly suspected that the winners' mums & dads or older siblings had 'helped' with many of these ideas/drawings😅 Same with 'Take Hart' - the standard of artwork submitted within each age category was highly suspect😂 I was a bright but fun loving child and always found Blue Peter to be far too dry and scientific. Much preferred the children's dramas such as 'The Phoenix and the Carpet' , 'Heidi' or 'Little House on the Prairie' In the same way my Mum was always wistful for her 50s childhood, I remember the 70s as a much simpler time. Perhaps it is more our childhoods we remember with fondness rather than the actual time periods themselves? My parents were always quick to remind us of all the strikes in the 70s. Tea was Birds Eye fish fingers followed by strawberry flavoured Angel Delight❤

[@JasmineSurrealVideos]

Take Hart couldn't have been fixed, at least not in my experience, I won best artist when I was 5 with a drawing of the Yellow Submarine and I had no help from my grandfather, I was always good at drawing and painting myself from an early age. I won a set of Conte pencils! Weirdly enough as an adult I met Tony Hart and he didn't believe me I was a professional artist, I mentioned I'd won on his show, even though I invited him to my art show which was over the road from the cafe he was sitting in, he'd been invited to give a workshop for kids at an arts festival I was exhibiting at in the Wirral called Hung, Drawn and Quartered and he was rude to the kids and made them cry. Not a nice man! You sound like you were a similar kid to me, only I did like Blue Peter a lot.

[@gillianm9367]

​@@JasmineSurrealVideosI must admit I'm shocked that Tony Hart would be rude to children- talk about biting the hand that fed you 😅 I hope Johnny Morris was a nice man- his show was good, as was Johnny Ball's 'Think of A Number' Well done winning your art prize- it must have been exciting to see your picture on the tv. My poor sister sat patiently each week hoping to see one of hers in the 'Gallery' She was very good at art but it wasn't to be. Remember Morph? The little chap made of plasticine 😅 The memories are flooding back now! I will leave it there before I start on Rentaghost 😂

[@Steveoffgrid]

Billy Connolly once said something along the lines of ‘its not that theres no more little village shops, or that programmes were better on the tv etc etc, its that we miss our youth’.

[@vazza7504]

Those giant Mobile phones at the beginning show how Technology has got so much smaller since the program was made 😊😊😊

[@choochoochooseyou]

Eerily accurate. Always liked James Burke

[@Licenciadopedro]

That's my generation. Unfortunately by that year I wasn't living in England and I would have sent some kind of future technology too. I would have been 13 by that time. I wrote a letter to Blue Peter from Venezuela, about a month later I received a letter from Blue Peter signed by Bidi Baxter, with the most coveted pin in the UK, the Blue Peter pin of course and 2 Blue Peter Badges, one of these badges I gave as a present to Mr. James Tudd as he gave me a ticket to his Classical Music Concert here in Caracas.

[@thomasbell7033]

I'm from the US and never saw "Blue Peter," but now I see where the later parodies sprang from.

[@SpeccyMan]

You may well be from the U.S. but that is no excuse for ending a sentence with a preposition!

[@johnadams9314]

@@SpeccyManHe can if he would like seeing as English has no need to operate under the rules of Latin.

[@emhughes7889]

Predicted drones within the first 4 seconds.... checkout the top right hand corner of the screen.

[@MsUppie]

Love the ‘invalid chair’ lol

[@Robert_Manners]

This edition must have been original broadcast in colour.

[@joechapman8208]

Isla Fordyce isn't a child anymore, so I'll just say what we're all thinking: that woolly cow is f***ing cursed

[@neildyer4433]

She's s witch

[@marrrtin]

Just having James Burke on Blue Peter is a treat.

[@ElizaWheeler79]

So Caroline Howell in Dudley Presicted the Euro, fobs for cars and the Robot Vacuum Cleaner

[@lindaashford7187]

Dudley in Worcestershire 😮

[@fyiaustralia9686]

Voice recognition, cloud seeding/weather manipulation, European Monetary Unit (Euro), remote school e-learning, robot vacuum cleaners, internet video chat - some predictions were pretty close. Good idea for a household dishwasher and recycling unit.

[@est6682]

I’d love to know what some of these kids did job wise later on, and what they influenced/ inspired

[@neilmcdonald9164]

This is in black and white,despite being 1974 as then special colour cameras were used and the beeb was slow to convert its studios and BP was using-sometimes-this last studio to be converted in the summer of 74...first time I've seen Leslie in black and white 🎩

[@daviniarobbins9298]

It took the BBC until February 1979 to go colour full time. Before this some of the news reports and outside broadcasts were still B&W.

[@chrissmart4984]

4:30 the first mention of a currency that works for the whole of Europe. The Euro 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍

[@timhubbard8895]

Some of the predictions have become reality. That was amazing!

[@Brakdayton]

The future is never what we expect. It’s simple practical tools that make our lives easier.

[@victoriacharlesworth7099]

This was the year I was born and here I am in 2024 laughing at those ‘space age clocks’ and ‘futuristic radios’…. Actually….. they look like alexas 😳🤣🤣 The woolly back cow though 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@jeremypearson6852]

I haven’t seen any BP since I left the UK forty years ago. The 70’s cast is what I remember most clearly. An expat watching in Florida.

[@martinraxyz]

Love the cloud blower idea!

[@BlameThande]

It's strange how the year 2000 remained THE FUTURE for so long even as it drew closer. I can remember Blue Peter doing future predictions in 1993 and there were still some people acting like we'd suddenly have Mars colonies and flying cars seven years later. Shout-out to the one kid in the 1993 round who predicted the Amazon Kindle almost exactly, though - the only part he got wrong was that he thought you'd have to go to a shop and plug it in with a cable to download new books.

[@purefoldnz3070]

meanwhile in the future people think the earth is flat. We have wars going around the world like its 1940s again and AI threatens to take away our jobs while we look at cat videos for the next dopamine hit. The future everyone!

[@davidcourt1047]

It would be interesting to learn what lines of work / professions those children when on to follow as adults

[@Dan23_7]

50 years ago wow.

[@rrbh]

My hope for the future in the UK is that my elderly father can afford to heat his home properly in the depths of the British winter.

[@clavichord]

I'm surprised Blue Peter was still recorded in Black and White as late as 1974... unless the original was colour but the video tape recording in B/W... 🤔

[@MatthewBrannigan]

Yes, you are right, the original was in colour but a black and white telerecording (16mm film) is all that still exists for this particular episode. Thanks to Biddy Baxter, every single episode of Blue Peter is still extant from about 1964, however some are not in colour where they were originally broadcast as such.

[@clavichord]

@@MatthewBrannigan Interesting. Thanks. Because of the clean picture quality, I had assumed the source had been some sort of studio video tape, maybe it was cleaned or simply in very good condition

[@clavichord]

@@Caesar1968 Yes, many people did still rent TV sets then, and, to be honest, it made sense, because they were not yet as reliable and expensive to buy outright. We did own our own TV in the 70s and I think we got our first colour set in 1981, VHS video recorder and teletext TV in the mid 80s.

[@clavichord]

@@Caesar1968 I remember Betamax. They actually had superior picture quality, but VHS won the format war because they were cheaper, and people were willing to compromise on quality for better affordability. Oh, yes, and I remember we got our first Astra satellite TV receiver in August 1989. I think we were fairly early as the Astra satellite had started in 1988. It was quite a big thing to get extra channels back then... and TV was so much more dominant, compared to today.

[@fburton8]

@@Caesar1968 After Troughton's b&w Doctor was banished to Earth ("You can't do this to me, no! No, no, no, no, NO!"), Pertwee falling out of the tardis on to a bed of purple heather was quite the event!

[@butzee]

I was 10 in 1974 so the year 2000 then was inconceivable? It’s now 2024 I’m 60 and the year 2000 is but a distant memory! How quickly it all goes?

[@Cobwobbler]

I entered this. Invented a couch with an engine to go down to the shops. The recycling machine is cool.

[@DrMoorehen]

How spookily accurate

[@Pixieworksstudio]

Absolute genius children.

[@andymann6061]

Quite scary how accurate the kids' predictions were.