Still, it's an extraordinarily accurate picture of the world we live in today - Archibald Low had an amazing feel for how the military technology of the 1940s would translate into consumer electronics decades later.

He didn't get *everything* right. Painting a room with DDT has generally been frowned upon since the discovery of its environmental impact.

Here he describes an electrostatic air purifier (widely available today) and a smart speaker. I asked mine to read the news to me this morning, though, backward creature that I am, I shaved manually.

The Teasmade and the mobile phone - which, Low suggests, had already been 'in operation for twelve months'. In fact the first consumer networks were not launched in the UK for another 40 years.

Next we have voicemail (with remote access) and Bluetooth headphones.

OK, we actually use plastic with a reflective coating, but next he proposes optical storage media for music. In other words, the compact disc.

He kicks off by correctly predicting the microwave oven, the video baby monitor and the Ring doorbell.

Also, remove any unread books from the bedside table at least every five years.

Do you know Robert Simpson's? Great place to go after Rubbra. The Ninth is a good starting point but it's a fascinating cycle.