In August 1991, an 11-year-old Canadian penned a brief note to his future self.
Mitch Brogan got the idea from his late grandfather Charles - to answer a list of 11 predictions and seal them up in an envelope until 1 January, 2020.
The letter stayed hidden away in a book in his grandfather's office until his death in 2006, when his grandson came across it by chance.
He waited to open it as promised until New Year's Day. So what did he get right about life in 2020?
The 39-year-old from London, Ontario, said he couldn't recall much about what he'd written in the note. Inside the envelope was a thin, folded piece of paper and an old, ratty Canadian $1 bill from 1954. But he said when he opened the note, "it all flooded back". "Looking at my words on the page, I sort of remember [making] the strokes," he told the BBC.
At the top of the letter was his childhood address, the date - 25 August 1991 - and a rough map to two other time capsules he and his cousin had buried on their grandfather's property. What were his predictions, now nearly three decades old? He would be married, have two children and own a house, a boat, a car, and a truck. He would be a writer and "maybe a lawyer" [sic] and would be earning a handsome C$450 ($345; £265) a month. He had dire predictions about the environment, imagining a world where none of the rivers and lakes would be clean, and where humans would "infest" other planets and "trash them up like they did to Earth".
Mr Brogan said he was an "outdoorsy" child who enjoyed cycling and baseball and had the early instincts of the entrepreneur he would grow up to be. He said that he and a friend made about C$300 that summer by helping neighbours rid themselves of earwig infestations. The time capsule exercise was the type of thing his grandfather would do, he recalls. "He was a strong, stern, loving man," said Mr Brogan. A commercial diver, Charles Brogan taught his grandson how to scuba dive as well as life lessons that have served Mr Brogan well over the years, including to keep in mind that all life's experiences are "just a moment in time".
As for his predictions in the letter, most never came about. He is not married, has no children, and mankind has yet to colonise other planets. He is neither a lawyer nor a writer but an entrepreneur who, most recently, founded a facility with the mission to help people with mobility impairments gain access to technologies that improve their quality of life.
He also started a company that develops technology and tools for people with reduced mobility.
BBC New 2nd January 2020
Read the text and say if the following sentences a TRUE or FALSE.
1. Mitch’s grandfather had the idea of keeping some predictions for the future in an envelope.
2. His grandfather had told him where to find the letter before he died.
3. He opened the letter before New Year’s Day.
4. He remembered most of what he had written.
5. When he opened the note he remembered everything.
6. Together with the letter there were two other time capsules.
7. He had been optimistic about the future of the environment.
8. He had imagined that humans would travel to other planets in 2020.
9. As a child he enjoyed spending time and doing things outside.
10. His grandfather’s example has been useful for Mitch.
11. Many of his predictions have come true.
12. His present projects are aimed at people with difficulties to move.
KEY
1. True. Mitch Brogan got the idea form his late grandfather Charles – to answer a list of 11 predictions and seal them up in an envelope.
2. False. …when his grandson came across it by chance.
3. False. He waited to open it as promised until New Year’s Day.
4. False. He couldn’t recall much about what he had written in the note.
5. True. He said when he opened the note, “it all flooded back”
6. False. A rough map to two other time capsules.
7. False. He had dire predictions about the environment, imagining a world where none of the rivers and lakes would be clean.
8. True. Humans would “infest” other planets.
9. True. Mr. Brogan said he was an “outdoorsy” child.
10. True. Charles Brogan taught his grandson how to scuba dive as well as life lessons that have served Mr. Brogan well over the years.
11. False. As for his predictions in the letter, most never came about.
12. True. …founded a facility with the mission to help people with mobility impairments gain access to technologies that improve their quality of life.
He also started a company that develops technology and tools for people with reduced mobility.
