In 1900, extrapolation of trends in the speed of ocean-going liners over the previous century or two would have predicted that the time taken to travel from London to Washington D.C. in 2004 would be at least a couple of weeks.

• 在1900年，根据前一两个世纪越洋班机速度趋势推论，到2004年从伦敦到华盛顿旅行所需时间至少得两个星期以上。