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5gZQ TIL that in 1863, Jules Verne wrote “Paris in the 20th Century,” a manuscript which predicted everything from glass skyscrapers to feminism to a statistical rise in illegitimate births; his publisher advised him against publishing it as it “broke no new ground” and was “unbelievable”
oPdL TIL that 17th century astronomer Johannes Kepler, who was unable to publish his dissertation as it contradicted the geocentric model held by the Catholic church, decided to rewrite it as a work of fiction about a man traveling to the moon. It is now considered the first modern science fiction novel.