Future Extincts Predictions

Don't get too attached to your DVDs – in 10 years they will be extinct. Also following the dodo into oblivion will be coins, ties, keys and phone books, according to future trends expert Richard Watson. His extinction timeline for the next 50 years is set out below. And it looks bad for fax machine fans. Good news, though... we may also be saying goodbye to wrinkles and buck teeth.

WITHIN 10 YEARS
2009
Phone boxes: BT says more than two thirds of Britain’s 62,000 phone boxes are hardly used – the mobile renders them obsolete.

2010
Ashtrays: Fast-becoming collectors’ items thanks to smoking ban.

2011
Landline phones: Another victim of the unstoppable march of the mobile.

2012
Dial-up internet: Faster and cheaper broadband will spell the end of dialling up to go online
Analogue TV: Britain will switch off analogue transmissions by 2012, so by then your old set won’t work.

2013
Video shops: Faster broadband will let us download films in a few seconds. Fax machines: You may be surprised anyone is still using them, but they’ll be gone for good in four years.

2014
Getting lost: Sat nav will be standard in new cars and mobiles. And the new Galileo satellite network will make it more accurate than ever.

2015
Telephone directories: There are already easier ways to find a number. Enjoy rifling through them while you can.

2016
Computer mouse: Minority Report-style motion capture technology will kill off one of the 20th century’s life-changing inventions.

2017
Real handkerchiefs: Even the most committed hanky-carrier will have switched to paper tissues.

2018
DVD: Downloads with faster speeds will send DVDs to join VHS in gadget heaven, despite advances in formats such as Blu-ray discs and HD DVD. Village shops: 600 closed last year. At that rate there will be none left by 2018.

2019
Free parking: The RAC estimates 30 per cent more cars on our roads by then, so spaces will be at a premium.

WITHIN 20 YEARS
2020
Sit-down breakfasts This will become something we eat on the run.

2021
Buck teeth Cheaper alternatives to braces will mean straight teeth will be affordable to most kids’ parents.

2022
The Maldives The 300,000 inhabitants of the Indian Ocean island chain fear rising sea levels will make them refugees.

2022
Spelling A recent survey found four in 10 Britons can’t spell simple words, and pupils still get good GCSE grades for error-littered papers.

2023
Work-free weekends With new technology we will always be connected to work, and as the economy changes more will be taking second jobs.

2024
AM radio This will be replaced completely by internet broadcasting.

2025
Free roads With more vehicles on the roads, congestion will spread to even the smallest streets – cue road tolls.

2026
Wrinkles We’ll have the choice to be crease-free thanks to nano-technology creams and laser treatments.

2027
Craftspeople English Heritage is already warning of a serious shortage of craftspeople such as stonemasons and carpenters.

The world’s reserves will have run dry in a little over 25 years. But we won’t miss it, thanks to new technology.

2036

Petrol-engined vehicles

But it won’t be the end of the car – they’ll be powered by hydrogen, biofuels or electricity instead.

2038

Glaciers

As global warming increases, the last of Earth’s glaciers will melt away.

2039

The monarchy

He’s had a long wait, and Prince Charles will be our last king.

WITHIN 50 YEARS

2040

National currencies

A globalised economy makes a world single currency an option, finance experts say.

2040

Free public spaces

Expect to pay if you want to walk in the park.

2041

Ties

By 2041 you’ll see men wearing ties only in history books about the 20th century.

2046

Household chores

Long a sci-fi dream, robots will finally be doing the housework.

2049

Blindness

Among great medical advances by the middle of the century will be a cure for blindness.

2059

Physical pain

If medicine advances as quickly this century as last, painkillers will be 100 per cent effective.

Courtesy - Mirror UK