10 inventions that gave high-living a new meaning
In the past half-century, scientific and technological advances have transformed our world. But have we ever sat back and thought about the popular mechanics, or electronics that had the biggest impact on our lives and, especially, our lifestyle? If today we are able to live it up, and party hard, it's these gadgets, that can take care of everything from our kitchen to the outer space. Here they are... TV Remote control (1955)
It marks the official end of humanity's struggle for survival and the beginning of a really relaxing afternoon, or night. The first wireless remote, designed by Eugene Polley, is essentially a flashlight. When Zenith discovered that direct sunlight also can change channels on the remote-receptive TVs, the company came out with a model that used ultrasound... which lasted till the '80s and then we discovered infrared.
Microwave Oven (1955)
In 1945 Raytheon's Percy Spencer stood in front of a magnetron (the power tube of radar) and felt a candy bar start to melt in his pocket: he tries placing popcorn kernels in front of the magnetron and the kernels explode all over the lab. Ten years later Spencer patented a 'radar range' that cooked with high-frequency radio waves. And gave women the time to discover the real meaning of a night of partying...
Jet Airliner (1958)
The Boeing 707-120 debuts as the world's first successful commercial jet airliner, ushering in the era of accessible mass air travel. The four-engine plane carries 181 passengers and cruises at 600 mph for up to 5,280 miles on a full tank. The first commercial jet flight takes off from New York and lands in Paris... and gives the rich and the famous a high-flying, fashionable lifestyle statement - the jetsetter is born!
Laser beam (1958)
Whitens teeth, removes tattoos, corrects vision, erases wrinkles, reduces weight... gives cosmetic beauty a new meaning altogether. And all this while trying to track missiles too!
The computer (1959)
The phrase 'dot com' became a part of our lingo only in the 1990s, but the sequence of innovations that leads to the Internet goes back at least 40 years. In 1989, Sir Tim Berners-Lee created Hypertext Markup Language' (HTML) to make Web pages and the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) to identify where information is stored. Two phrases that has ever since shrunk the world, brought friends closer, increased efficiency, improved communication, and brought the world to our bedroom at the click of a button.
Cordless devices (1961)
Black and Decker release its first cordless drill. A simple tool that becomes a keyword for easy living - cordless phones, radios, computers.
Digital Music (1970)
James Russell, a scientist, invents the first digital-to-optical recording and playback system. Something that today, makes us dance to the tunes of rap, remix, club and lounge music.
ATM (1969)
On September 2, our bank will open at 9 am and never close again! Read a Long Island branch of Chemical Bank advertisement in 1969. And today, who goes to a bank when in need of cash?
MP3 player (1998)
Depending on who you ask, the MP3 is either the end of civilization (record companies) or the dawn of a new world (everyone else). The korean company Saehan introduces its MPMan in 1998, long before Apple asks, "Which iPod are you?"
Video games (1962)
MIT programmers write Spacewar and 44 years later, 89 per cent of school-age kids, and 63 per cent adult professionals own video games.
It marks the official end of humanity's struggle for survival and the beginning of a really relaxing afternoon, or night. The first wireless remote, designed by Eugene Polley, is essentially a flashlight. When Zenith discovered that direct sunlight also can change channels on the remote-receptive TVs, the company came out with a model that used ultrasound... which lasted till the '80s and then we discovered infrared.
Microwave Oven (1955)
In 1945 Raytheon's Percy Spencer stood in front of a magnetron (the power tube of radar) and felt a candy bar start to melt in his pocket: he tries placing popcorn kernels in front of the magnetron and the kernels explode all over the lab. Ten years later Spencer patented a 'radar range' that cooked with high-frequency radio waves. And gave women the time to discover the real meaning of a night of partying...
Jet Airliner (1958)
The Boeing 707-120 debuts as the world's first successful commercial jet airliner, ushering in the era of accessible mass air travel. The four-engine plane carries 181 passengers and cruises at 600 mph for up to 5,280 miles on a full tank. The first commercial jet flight takes off from New York and lands in Paris... and gives the rich and the famous a high-flying, fashionable lifestyle statement - the jetsetter is born!
Laser beam (1958)
Whitens teeth, removes tattoos, corrects vision, erases wrinkles, reduces weight... gives cosmetic beauty a new meaning altogether. And all this while trying to track missiles too!
The computer (1959)
The phrase 'dot com' became a part of our lingo only in the 1990s, but the sequence of innovations that leads to the Internet goes back at least 40 years. In 1989, Sir Tim Berners-Lee created Hypertext Markup Language' (HTML) to make Web pages and the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) to identify where information is stored. Two phrases that has ever since shrunk the world, brought friends closer, increased efficiency, improved communication, and brought the world to our bedroom at the click of a button.
Cordless devices (1961)
Black and Decker release its first cordless drill. A simple tool that becomes a keyword for easy living - cordless phones, radios, computers.
Digital Music (1970)
James Russell, a scientist, invents the first digital-to-optical recording and playback system. Something that today, makes us dance to the tunes of rap, remix, club and lounge music.
ATM (1969)
On September 2, our bank will open at 9 am and never close again! Read a Long Island branch of Chemical Bank advertisement in 1969. And today, who goes to a bank when in need of cash?
MP3 player (1998)
Depending on who you ask, the MP3 is either the end of civilization (record companies) or the dawn of a new world (everyone else). The korean company Saehan introduces its MPMan in 1998, long before Apple asks, "Which iPod are you?"
Video games (1962)
MIT programmers write Spacewar and 44 years later, 89 per cent of school-age kids, and 63 per cent adult professionals own video games.
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