The Onion from the Future

Traveling to the present

Lost to the Past

In 2005, we did a “future” issue of The Onion, stretching the current technology to make theonion.com look like a dystopian news outlet from 2056.

I had such fun going back in time with our first original book, Our Dumb Century (1999). And we created a single-page future issue of The Onion for a national publication (I think it was Newsweek) shortly afterwards. Naturally, I was excited to do an entire issue from 50 years hence. And we did!

Twenty years later, I figured this issue was lost. I’ve tried to find it on The Onion’s website and elsewhere, but they removed all the future design. All the jokes fall flat without the 2056 framing.

A Hero Historian Emerges

Enter James daSilva, who runs the excellent The Onion: 20 Years Later newsletter on Substack.

The internet’s favorite Onion historian, James somehow dug up this lost issue and figured out how to make the technology work on today’s computers and phones. And it’s glorious—like traveling back in time. Rather, forward in time. Check it out here.

My favorite headline from this special issue (written by the amazing John Krewson) was “Million Robot March Attended by Exactly 1,000,000 Robots.”

What’s yours?

An Even Deeper Onion Rabbit Hole

Want to hear a lot of fun, funny, and crazy stories about The Onion’s first 20 years? I spill some zingers and tell some gut-wrenching personal stories in my book The Onion Story, which comes out in October and is available for preorder now.

If you pick up the book for yourself or the Onion fan in your life, screenshot the receipt! I’ll be announcing giveaways and promotions in the coming weeks you don’t want to miss.