1 Hi-Fi Receiver
The first integrated hi-fi receiver (short for
"high fidelity") was designed by Sidney Harman and Bernard Kardon.
Companies like RCA, Marconi and Westerrn Electric were designing systems
during the 1930's to make a successful receiver. The first was created
in 1954 and was known as the Festival D1000.
2 Brownie Camera
The Brownie cameras were some of the first point
and shoot cameras available. This was the way to bring snapshots to the
masses in 1900. In the first year of production, they sold 100,000 of
them.
3 Sewing Machine
Singer created a portable version of the first
mechanical stitcher. It was unveiled at Chicago's 1933 Century of
Progress fair 80 years after the stitcher. At 11 pounds, the
life-changing device took the time down from 14 hours to one hour to sew
a shirt.
4 Laptop
The first successful laptop was an 11-pound
computer from 1982 known as the GRiD Compass 1101. Though, it took a
while to laptops to catch on, they are now owned by more than 52% of
adults.
5 Answering Machine
The Phone-Mate Model 400 was the world's first
answering machine. Introduced in 1971, these changed the ways we used
the phone and received messages. Though the answering machine could only
hold 20 messages, it was a revolutionary device for users at the time.
6 Remote Control
In 1950 the first remote control was created by
Zenith, the popular electronics company. Originally sold separately, now
remote controls come with their television sets. They originally make a
clicking sound when operated and that is what gave them their nickname,
"the clicker"
7 Modem
The first modems were made to convert U.S. Air
Force data from radar into sounds. At the time, in 1949, the
transmissions were slow. In the 1990s, modems began to hit 56 kbps and
have been crucial to the way we live ever since!
8 VCR
Video cassette recorders (VCRS) were a household
item in the late 1970s. Even though they were very popular by 1982,
some of Hollywood had copyright concerns. Jack Valenti, the president of
the Motion Picture Associate of America even said “I say to you that
the VCR is to the American film producer … as the Boston Strangler is to
the woman home alone"
9 The Alarm Clock
Primitive alarms were used by Plato and the
first mechanical alarm clocks were established by the 15th-century and
used in Europe. These days alarm clocks can use sound, light or sensors
to alert the user.
10 Vacuum Cleaner
The vacuum cleaner was invented by James Murray
Spangler in 1907. This was a gadget created with an electric fan,
pillowcase and rotating brush. Though this great invention didn't come
cheap. It was $60, which is close to $1,500 in 2012 dollars.
11 Handheld GPS
GPS was originally a U.S. military tool. It was
an important way of tracking and finding directions. It became available
for civilian use in 1983 and the first handheld unit was sold in 1989.
12 Typewriters
Christopher L. Sholes created the modern-day
keyboard. In the 1870s he studied letter-pair frequency and came up with
what we now know as the QWERTY keyboard. In 1874, the Remington
Standard 2 typewriter became the first to use this keyboard and that
sparked the popularity of this style.
Source: Tinybites.
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