Now you are up and dressed it is time to go to the kitchen for breakfast. On one wall of the kitchen there is a cooking unit, made up of small ovens, refrigerators, deep freezers, and cold-storage compartments. All the cooking is done automatically. It is controlled electronically by a small built-in computer. There is a control panel to work the cooker. It looks like a typewriter, with rows of numbered and lettered keys. To order breakfast, you spell out what you want on the control panel.

Note: Much of Hoyle’s vision for the future was one of reduced complexity (remember, “In 2010 there must be no wasted space”). Yet this is just the start of the most complicated food production system you could possibly imagine. I hope you’re hungry, because this is the start of twelve pages (six spreads) dealing with how all these small ovens, deep freezers, and “cold-storage compartments” get stocked. While the page devoted to how toast gets made may be clearly laughable, there are actually some pretty accurate predictions to come.