In the 1960s scientists developed a rocket belt for the military that was capable of lifting its wearer nearly 60 feet off the ground and flying at speeds of more than 30 miles per hour. In tests, how long could it remain aloft?

In 1958 Ford Motor Company unveiled the Nucleon, an experimental car with a steam turbine engine that was to be powered by a small nuclear reactor in its trunk. Ford envisioned the car as being able to travel 5,000 miles between fill-ups of nuclear fuel. The futuristic vehicle's passenger compartment was located in an unusual place -- close to the front of the chassis, extending over the front axle. Why?

In 1888 Edward Bellamy, author of the utopian novel "Looking Backward: 2000-1887," predicted that women of the millennium would wear disposable, recyclable paper attire, which would free them from the drudgery of hand-laundering. By the 1960s, designer paper dresses were a reality. Why didn't they catch on?

As far back as the 1930s, fictional depictions of the future predicted that scientists eventually would develop a way to fit all the nutrients necessary for sustenance into a single, convenient-to-consume "meal-in-a-pill." True or false: While the idea of single-swallow synthetic food might seem unappetizing to foodies everywhere, the United States military still is interested in such a concept.

In 1960 Hollywood producer Mike Todd Jr. released the film "Scent of Mystery," which featured a special technology that added aromas to scenes. What was the biggest technical challenge involved in Smell-O-Vision?

The PicturePhone, unveiled by AT&T; in the early 1960s, was expected to become as popular as webcams are today. Instead, the then-futuristic technology flopped. Why?

The Dymaxion, a three-wheeled, teardrop-shaped, aerodynamically efficient van designed in 1933 by inventor and architect Buckminster Fuller, could transport 11 passengers at speeds of up to 120 miles an hour, with fuel efficiency of 30 miles per gallon. Why didn't the Dymaxion ever go into mass production?

In 1950 Popular Mechanics magazine envisioned which of these innovations for the kitchen of 2000?

In 1947 inventor Cledo Brunetti actually created a working version of the two-way wrist radio imagined by Chester Gould in his "Dick Tracy" comic strip. Why didn't it catch on with law enforcement agencies?

In 1971 ex-Northrop engineer Henry Smolinski founded Advanced Vehicle Engineers in order to develop a prototype of a flying car. The Oxnard, Calif., company designed the AVE Mizar by joining the rear portion of a Cessna Skymaster airplane to what kind of car?