TRENDS OF THE FUTURE… UTURE… UTURE …UTURE…

Some experts have given their predictions, and this is what they say we’ll see more of in the coming year:
– Robot Restaurant Workers: For example, there’s already Servi, a robot which delivers food and clears dirty dishes, which can be leased for about $1,000 a month. There’s also Flippy, a burger-flipping robot from Miso Robotics, introduced in 2018 at Pasadena-based burger chain CaliBurger, but was fired after one day for flipping burgers too fast. Miso has improved the design with Flippy 2. (* The sad part is watching original Flippys flipping off Flippy 2’s.)
– Minivans: Minivan sales jumped 84 percent in 2021, and new minivan models have the same sliding doors and high seats beloved by suburbanites, but now come with a rugged, stylish design described as “sexy.”
– Long Distance Travel Dating: Tinder has a feature called Tinder Passport that allows users to match with singles around the globe. In 2021, Tinder members “passported” to an average of four cities and two countries to look for dates. 76 percent made matches in a country that speaks a language different than their own.
– More Vending Machines: Selling things like ramen, smoothies, fresh salads and sandwiches, fresh-cooked pizza, raw meat, goat cheese and cannabis.
– Rubber Shoes: Puddle Boots and Crocs have seen huge sales increases since 2020, and celebrities have been spotted wearing them. Plus, they’re affordable, with an average price of around $45.
– Digital Learning: Many colleges are offering steep discounts for online-only students. At the University of North Texas, for instance, the average annual tuition for out-of-state graduate students is $31,540. But for an online MBA, the estimated total cost for the entire program is just $19,464.
– Pet Travel: One analytics company says “pet-friendliness” was the top search priority for travelers looking to book trips in 2022, “more important than hotel cleanliness.” Hilton Hotels is expanding more properties to be completely pet friendly, and it’s believed more brands will follow Hilton’s lead.
– Popcorn: Especially weirdly flavored popcorn.
– Malls: Some experts are claiming people will start returning to malls.
* Great news about malls, Sears! Oh – wait — too late.
* A couple experts also predict that next year, George R.R. Martin will finally release the next “Game of Thrones” book. Yeah, right.
* All these things are assuming everybody will still be alive after the super spreader event known as Christmas.
* Then ’round about April there’ll be yet another COVID variant.
* Still waiting for jet packs and flyin’ cars.