I think if futurists from the '50s saw the way things turned out in 2012—speaking purely in terms of innovation—they wouldn't be too mad. But there is one area where we truly failed them: flying cars.
There are few retro images of the future that come to mind more than the flying car. Think of the Jetsons! (Shit, now I want to go watch the Jetsons...) And yet, here we are, suffering through hours of gridlock every day just to get home from work. Sure, some have attempted the flying car, but there are so many walls and red flags between that technology and the masses, that when it does actually happen, we'll probably be teleporting to the store already. [Retronaut]