Technology — Page 2
Innovations and technology
188 facts
In modern cars, the gas pedal controls the air, not the fuel.
When you press the pedal, you are opening the throttle plate to let more air into the engine. The car's computer…
The first-ever SMS text message simply said 'Merry Christmas'.
Sent on December 3, 1992, by engineer Neil Papworth to colleague Richard Jarvis, it was sent from a computer to a…
The first mechanical computer was designed but never built.
In the 1800s, Charles Babbage designed the 'Analytical Engine'. It was too complex for the technology of his time…
The 'Save' icon is a floppy disk.
Floppy disks haven't been used since the late 1990s, but the icon remains a universal symbol for saving data, even…
The first DVD was released in 1997 and held 4.7 GB of data.
This massive leap in storage capacity compared to CDs allowed for high-quality movies to be distributed to homes…
Erno Rubik took a month to solve his own invention.
When the Hungarian architect invented the Rubik's Cube in 1974, he didn't realize how difficult it was. It took him…
The first computer hard drive weighed over a ton.
Invented by IBM in 1956, the RAMAC 305 stored just 5 megabytes of data on fifty 24-inch platters. Today, a tiny…
The Apollo 11 moon camera had to be custom-built.
To broadcast the moon landing, engineers developed a slow-scan television camera that could withstand extreme…
Bluetooth is named after a Viking king.
The wireless technology is named after Harald Bluetooth Gormsson, a 10th-century king who united Denmark and Norway…
The first website is still online.
The first website, created by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in 1991, explained what the World Wide Web was and how to use…
Email existed before the World Wide Web.
Electronic mail was already being sent in the 1970s on ARPANET, the precursor to the internet. Ray Tomlinson sent the…
The 'CC' in email stands for 'Carbon Copy'.
It is a direct reference to carbon paper, which was used in typewriters to make an instant duplicate of a physical…
The 'Like' button on Facebook was originally going to be called the 'Awesome' button.
During early development, this was the working title. However, the creators eventually settled on 'Like' because it…
The first digital camera was invented by Kodak in 1975, but they suppressed it.
The prototype was created by engineer Steven Sasson. Kodak feared it would destroy their highly profitable film…
The first commercial computer, UNIVAC I, predicted the 1952 US presidential election.
CBS News used the massive computer to analyze early returns. It correctly predicted an Eisenhower landslide, shocking…
The first CD was produced in 1982.
The first commercial CD was released on August 17, 1982 in Japan and contained the recording of 'The Visitors' by…
The first portable computer weighed 11 kg.
The Osborne 1, released in 1981, is considered the first truly commercial portable computer. It weighed about 11 kg…
The first product ever scanned with a barcode was a pack of chewing gum.
In 1974, at a Marsh supermarket in Ohio, a pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum became the first item purchased using…
Garrett Morgan invented the traffic light and an early version of the gas mask.
In 1923, Morgan patented a three-position traffic signal. He also created a 'safety hood' smoke protector that was…
The first credit card was made of cardboard in 1950.
Created by Frank McNamara (Diners Club), the first cards were given to frequent customers who could charge meals at…
The first fax was installed in a palace in 1860.
Napoleon III installed a fax machine between his palace and his office in Paris in 1860. The device, a precursor to…
Bubble wrap was invented by accident.
In the late 1950s, two North American engineers imagined a modern, textured wallpaper. The material did not please as…
Post-it notes were invented by accident.
In 1968, scientist Spencer Silver was trying to develop a strong adhesive for 3M. Instead, he created a weak adhesive…
The first email ever sent was by Ray Tomlinson to himself in 1971, and it reportedly said 'QWERTYUIOP'.
Tomlinson also chose the '@' symbol to separate the user name from the computer name. He later admitted he had…