Shashi Tharoor posts a 1919 cartoon that predicts the impact of mobile phones

In one image, a guy rushes to catch a train as his phone rings, while in another, he tries to pick up the phone despite having his hands full.

Cell phones have become an indispensible component of our daily life. Many individuals are captivated to their digital screens from the moment they wake up until they go to bed, and internet use has become unavoidable.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, whose broad vocabulary astounds internet users, has uploaded an ancient 1919 cartoon anticipating how technology will effect human life. The cartoon has a striking similarity to the subsequent evolution of mobile phone usage, and netizens applaud the cartoonist’s intuition.

The cartoon “The pocket telephone: When it will ring!” depicts many scenarios in which a cell phone will ring. It depicts a man hurrying to catch a train as his phone rings, while another depicts a man attempting to pick up the phone because his hands are full.

The amusing cartoon illustrates situations in which it is impossible to attend a call, including when it is pouring, during a performance, or when getting married. The phone rings as a guy is ready to cradle a newborn infant, much to the anger of a woman who exclaims, “That bell is terrifying the tiny mite.”

“The next contemporary nightmare in the way of innovations is believed to be the pocket telephone,” the cartoon ends. We can only guess whenever this instrument will be put to use! (W K Haselden wrote it.)

Tharoor described the animation as implausible and the forecast as strangely prophetic. He mentioned that fixed-line telephones were uncommon at the time the comic was developed. “Scarcely credible, yet forecasts regarding technology (generally far off the mark) were occasionally hauntingly accurate.” See this 1919 cartoon, created when fixed-line telephones were still uncommon, that predicted the mobile phone and the annoyance it may become 80 years later!” Tharoor posted on Twitter.

The cartoonist received praise online for his forecast. “This is so real…!” said one user. “It was way ahead of its time.”

Another user commented, “I’m quite sure this was deemed ‘comical’ rather than foresight at the time.” Many imaginative scatalogical jokes come to mind.” “This is absolutely a GEM of a cartoon,” said a third. The artist could see a Century ahead of him.”