Old histories of the future

Thanks to the blog Patahistory, I now know about the blog Paleo-Future, which is subtitled "a look at the future that never was."

I've barely had a look but already I know that I will enjoy this immensely, and some of my readers will love it, too.

The picture above is currently at the top, entitled "Aluminum from Canada." But was this a view of a future that never was, or a futuristic present that we've forgotten? A reader of Paleo-Future sends a link showing the Atomium erected in Brussels in 1958 as part of Expo 58 -- the year that "Aluminum from Canada" appeared as an ad. And it appears that it's still there!

Oh, but it hardly matters, does it? You can get nostalgic or maybe hilarious just looking at this!