[ed. note: This whole article was written by Brendan in the previous comment section. It is much, much too good to be mere comment, so hence it gets its own article.]

I want to point out a few things i’ve noticed about the the Jetsons Future universe that actually suggests something far different and far more sinister than what you guys are talking about.

Jetson Future (JF) buildings are horribly space inefficient. Notice how the wide saucer-shaped apartments are supported by skinny poles, not additional living space built into supporting superstructure like 20th century skyscrapers.

Also note how far apart the buildings appear to be – in a world of overpopulation one would think the buildings would be extremely close together. This is not the case – buildings appear to be several miles apart.

Additionally, unless the Jetsons live at the literal top of the food chain in the JF, then one could argue that this is the elevation at which most people live (give or take a few thousand feet). Notice you never see towers that rise high above the Jetson apartment, this despite George Jetson’s single income in the middle management of a manufacturing firm (hardly a top salaried position).

If the buildings are always far apart, all around similar elevations, and space inefficient then this actually suggests the population in the JF is quite SPARSE. If anything there has been a great depopulation. Further evidence:

The Jetsons have a Robot Maid - in a society dealing with overpopulation, labor would be extremely cheap and would allowing for an affordable, better-functioning human housecleaner at a cheaper cost with lower maintenance fees. The Jets have a large dog – Astro was always depicted as having a sizeable appetite. In a world struggling to feed billions of people a large dog such as Astro would be considered a shocking luxury. So the world is most definitely smaller than it used to be. Then why not live on the ground? A lot of people have brought up the spectre of global flooding and nuclear war as the reasons the people of the JF have abandoned the Earth for the troposphere. But here’s the thing – the advanced level of technology suggests otherwise. A few points:

I remember an episode where Spacely Sprockets had a shrinking machine. This incredible, physics-violating technology was used for the mundane purpose of reducing shipping costs. Interstellar travel is treated the same as air travel is treated today – this suggests an extremely well-developed mastery of faster-than-light spacecraft. George has a flying car that is incredibly un-aerodynamic and fragile, yet can propel a vehicle in high altitude at incredible speed, despite the fact it is comprised of 90% clear acrylic. The buildings I the JF are precariously balanced on thin support columns that possible stretch for miles to the ground below – yet are never affected by high upper-atmospheric winds. This suggests super-strong, readily available building materials probably created through advances in nanotechnology. Any society that can master what the people of the JF have created should have no problem defeating issues of radiation or global warming. No, the people of the JF have abandoned Earth for another reason. Here’s my theory.

The Jetsons represent the elite ruling class of the Earth, who reside above the mass of “lesser-evolved” humanity down below on the terra firma. Much like HG Well’s depiction of the future in “The Time Machine” its possible that humans evolved in different directions. Notice all the people of fair complexion. Do you remember any black people in the Jetsons? Exactly. In order to avoid contamination of their gene pool by the “lesser” peoples below. they chose live in this “higher earth” to ensure the purity of their race.

The people of the JF have embraced eugenics, racism, and class structure in the hope of building an ideal society. Thus I come to my conclusion - The world of the Jetsons is an alternate future in which the Third Reich conquered the Earth and enslaved all non-white peoples. Strong class systems created two distinct worlds on earth – one privileged, one forced to live in ignorance and poverty. Over hundreds of years the groups then evolved differently, separately, until they reached point we are at now where both species (and they are now different species) cannot possibly coexist. When you look at it this way, it makes perfect sense why the Jetsons live in the sky.

You’ll never look at Elroy the same way again. Because he’s Space Nazi.

Also I thought of this when I was 10.