5 things Back to the Future got right, and 5 things it didn't

Today is the day, the day Back to the Future fans have been waiting for since 1989. Today is the day time-traveling teen heartthrob Marty McFly arrives from 1985 to the far-flung future of 2015.

But the 2015 he finds is very different from the one we’re living in today. Or is it?

Things they got right

Holographic entertainment

Sure, we don’t have movie theatres sporting massive shark holograms, but devices like the Microsoft Hololens are getting pretty darn close.

Hoverboards

Many companies have reportedly been at this one for years, but we’re no closer to flying rocket skateboards than we were in 1989. However, Lexus has unveiled a type of “hoverboard” that uses electromagnets to float a few inches above a track. It isn’t quite Back to the Future Part II awesome yet, but it’s getting there.

Video chat

It might seem strange to the youth of today that this was ever considered futuristic, but in 1989 video calling might as well have been teleportation.

Bionic implants

Griff Tannen’s cybernetic implants – giving him enhanced strength and the ability to become taller on command – seemed impossible in 1989. Now, mechanical prosthesis are becoming more and more commonplace, with amazing innovations being made every day.

Automatic servers

In 2015 Hill Valley, Cafe ’80s featured automated server consoles that would take your order and process it in an instant. They don’t sound like Thriller-era Michael Jackson, but automated consoles are cropping up in supermarkets, conveniences stores, and restaurants around the world.

Things they got wrong

Flying cars

A particular sore spot amongst science-fiction fans, we’ve been promised flying cars since the days of The Jetsons and beyond. At this rate, we’re going to have to wait another 30 years. Maybe even 50 years before we can say: “Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads.”

Personal fusion reactors

Not only are we still working on how to safely create fusion power, the closest we are to a fusion reactor is roughly the size of the sun. Well, exactly the size of the sun. Because it’s the sun.

Self-tying shoes

There are reports that the inconceivably awesome self-tying Nikes Marty McFly wear in Back to the Future Part 2 exist, but until we see a prototype, we’ll just have to keep tying our own shoe laces like a bunch of idiots. Or wear slip-ons. Or Velcro shoes. Those work too.

UPDATE: Today, Michael J. Fox, Marty McFly himself, received a pair of Nike Air Mags. Forget we said anything. The future is here.

This is real. This is today. Coming spring 2016. cc: @RealMikeFox @Nike pic.twitter.com/KPswXNojvA

— michaeljfox.org (@MichaelJFoxOrg) October 21, 2015

Self-drying clothes

The main reason we haven’t invented clothing with built in fans is because it’s crazy. Where would the fan even go? Wouldn’t it be extra heavy? Why does that make sense? We’ve got clothing that “wicks moisture,” but what does that even mean?

Fashion

Thank goodness for this one. It turns out that in 2015 people dress more like it’s 1989, than people in 1989 thought people would dress in 2015. Is that a helmet, or a hat, or what?