Even the most respected scientists, business leaders and journalists sometimes get the future bizarrely wrong. From rejecting The Beatles to writing off the mobile phone and the computer: which historical blunder do you find the most laughable? Cast your vote!
Cast your vote - the ranking shifts live based on the votes.
'There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home' (1977)
Said by Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, just before the PC revolution changed the world forever.
'The Beatles have no future; guitar groups are on the way out' (1962)
Record label Decca rejected The Beatles in favor of The Tremeloes, only to see them become the best-selling band of all time.
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'There's no chance the iPhone is going to get any significant market share' (2007)
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer openly laughed at Apple over the lack of a physical keyboard and the 500-dollar price.
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'The horse is here to stay, the automobile is only a fad' (1903)
A Michigan bank president urgently advised Henry Ford's lawyer not to invest in the automobile.
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'Children aren't interested in books about witches and wizards' (1996)
Twelve publishers rejected the Harry Potter manuscript before Bloomsbury took the plunge and unleashed a billion-dollar franchise.
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'Television won't last more than six months' (1946)
Film mogul Darryl Zanuck (20th Century Fox) thought people would soon get tired of staring at a 'plywood box' every night.
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'The telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication' (1876)
Western Union refused to buy Alexander Graham Bell's patent for just 100,000 dollars.
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'Rock 'n' roll will be gone within six months' (1955)
Variety magazine thought the music of Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry was a temporary youth fad.
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'People really don't want to take a laptop to the beach' (1985)
The New York Times wrote off portable computers because nobody would want to spend their free time with a screen.
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'A rocket can never fly through the vacuum of space' (1920)
The New York Times claimed rockets had nothing to push against and only apologized after the moon landing in 1969.
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