When President Kennedy said in 1961 that America would land a man on the moon by the end of the decade, NASA had just barely sent its first astronaut into the lower strata of space. After years of failure, the moon seemed far beyond reach. And yet, eight years later, Neil Armstrong took his first lunar steps.

It's hard to imagine a recent U.S. administration making such a bold pledge (let alone succeeding), but countless people, organizations, and companies are working to come up with the next big idea that will reshape our world. Though many will fail, it is the striving and struggling to make real the seemingly impossible—"Pushing the outside of the envelope," as NASA's first astronauts liked to say—that leads us to watershed events. Constantly reaching slightly beyond our grasp is what steers us to the best ideas, and leaves us ready to face the yet-unknown challenges of tomorrow.

Welcome to the wonderful world of things to come, conveniently arranged in alphabetical order. We'll be adding to this list every day until it's complete.

A: ARK, LUNAR

B: BABY BONDS

C: COIN FLIPPING ISN'T FAIR

D: DELOREAN REVIVAL plus the Big Ideas Graveyard

E: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LIFE plus Big Thinker: WENDY KOPP

F: FAMOUS PEOPLE SELL MAGAZINES plus Big Thinker: DANNY DeVITO

G: GUM, EASILY REMOVABLE plus Big Thinker: MARIO BATALI

H: HUMAN TERRAIN SYSTEM plus Big Thinker: SAMANTHA POWER

I: IBRAHIM INDEX OF AFRICAN GOVERNANCE

J: JERUSALEM, DIVISION OF

K: KILLER ROBOTS IN IRAQ

L: LARGE HADRON COLLIDER and more Literally Big Ideas

M: MUSEUM OF NATURE plus Big Thinker: JELLY HELM

N: NUCLEAR ENERGY GOES GREEN plus Big Thinker: LAWRENCE LESSIG

P: PAPER SAVING plus Big Thinker: CAMERON SINCLAIR

Q: QUANTUM HIPPIES

T: TED EFFECT

U: USEFUL VOID

V: VERICHIP

W: WITNESS VIDEO HUB

X: X PRIZE plus Big Thinker: PETER DIAMANDIS

Y: YOUPORN

Z: ZEPPELINS, LUXURY