Nikola Tesla was a legendary futurist before the term futurist even existed. He made all kinds of predictions about the way that world would and should operate — some of them accurate, and some of them controversial. And guess what? It's his birthday!
Born "at the stroke of midnight" on July 9th/10th in 1856, Nikola Tesla almost seemed destined to become a mythological figure. The internet just can't get enough of him at the moment. Tesla's combination of underdog status and absolute brilliance have turned him into an internet folk hero for the early 21st century.
For some further reading on Tesla and his legacy be sure to check out Glenn Beck's plans for an Edison/Tesla movie, Gizmodo's chat with Tesla biographer W. Bernard Carlson, and why we probably shouldn't canonize Tesla just yet.
Happy birthday, Tesla. You lovely, strange, forward-thinking weirdo. Below, you can read some of his predictions for the 21st century.