Since I love trivia and since I knew some of these items were wrong (and since I obviously have too much time on my hands on a Saturday morning!), here are dates for some of these inventions, mostly taken from about.com. This list has to be a few years old, if "Grandpa" is only 59. :)
July 2, 1928: Charles F. Jenkins begins broadcasting the first regular telecasts designed to be received by the general public;July 12, 1928: First televised tennis match.
The first thing I remember ever seeing on television was professional wrestling, at my grandparents' house. it was about 1950. Their TV had a little round screen. I hated professional wrestling even then.
In 1943, the required clinical trials were performed and penicillin was shown to be the most effective antibacterial agent to date. Penicillin production was quickly scaled up and available in quantity to treat Allied soldiers wounded on D-Day.
Up until this time, soldiers died from infections in their wounds as much as from the wounds themselves.
In 1955 Jonas Salk became a medical hero for developing a vaccine that helped conquer polio.
I still remember all of us children lining up in the gym/cafeteria of our elementary school to get our polio shots!
The first quick-frozen vegetables, fruits, seafoods, and meat were sold to the public for the first time in 1930 in Springfield, Massachusetts, under the tradename Birds Eye Frosted Foods®.
God bless old Clarence. Fresh is best, but frozen beats the heck ouf of canned!
Xerox Corp. was founded in Rochester, NY, in 1906 but under a different name. It was named Xerox Corporation in 1961.
In 1936, William Feinbloom, a NY optometrist, fabricates the first American-made contact lenses and introduces the use of plastic. In 1945, the Amer. Optometric Assn. formally recognizes the growing contact lens field by specifying contact lens fitting as an integral part of the practice of optometry.
The Frisbie Baking Company (1871-1958) of Bridgeport, Connecticut, made pies that were sold to many New England colleges. Hungry college students soon discovered that the empty pie tins could be tossed and caught, providing endless hours of game and sport…. In 1948, a Los Angeles building inspector named Walter Frederick Morrison and his partner Warren Franscioni invented a plastic version of the Frisbie that could fly further and with better accuracy than a tin pie plate.
The birth control pill was introduced to the public in the early 1960s.
In the 1920s, a shopper's plate - a "buy now, pay later" system - was introduced in the USA. It could only be used in the shops which issued it. In 1950, Diners Club and American Express launched their charge cards in the USA, the first "plastic money".
I remember in the 1950s, my mom having a little metal "Charge-a-Plate" with her name and address embossed on it. It was good in all the major department stores downtown.
The invention of the laser, which stands for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, can be dated to 1958 with the publication of the scientific paper, Infrared and Optical Masers, by Arthur L. Schawlow, then a Bell Labs researcher, and Charles H. Townes, a consultant to Bell Labs.
The first man to actually develop and launch a ball-point pen was the Hungarian László Jozsef BÃró (1899-1985) from Budapest, who in 1938 invented a ball-point pen with a pressurized ink cartridge.
I do remember, though, when the first felt-tip pens came out. Remember the "Bic Banana," anyone?
In 1959, Glen Raven Mills of North Carolina introduced pantyhose -- underpants and stockings all in one garment.
They were invented by a man. Figures.
In 1902, only one year after Willis Haviland Carrier graduated from Cornell University with a Masters in Engineering, the first air (temperature and humidity) conditioning was in operation, making one Brooklyn printing plant owner very happy.
In 1886, Josephine Cochran proclaims in disgust "If nobody else is going to invent a dishwashing machine, I'll do it myself." And she did, Josephine Cochran invented the first practical (did the job) dishwasher. Josephine Cochran had expected the public to welcome the new invention, which she unveiled at the 1893, World's Fair, but only the hotels and large restaurants were buying her ideas. It was not until the 1950s that dishwashers caught on with the general public. Josephine Cochran's machine was a hand-operated mechanical dishwasher. She founded a company to manufacture these dishwashers, which eventually became KitchenAid.
Actually, it only took me about 30 minutes of Googling to dig up that stuff. It was fun, because I wasn't sure when some of those things took place. Some of them really surprised me.
Surprised me, too, Linda. :) I'm going to have to ask my Daddy what he remembers since he IS 59. LOL!
I do remember hearing them talk about being the first house on the street with a television. It was tiny and all the kids in the neighborhood would come over to watch it. (We are the Jones family, you know. )
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SafariVista
Perhaps this Grandpa grew up on a farm in the mountains~
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RumRunner
OK - which ones apply to you - I'ved edited the list for the ones (I think) apply to me - this ought to be fun
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waysider
Air conditioners predate WWI and Coke derived its' name from one of its' more notorious ingredients,cocaine.
How old must I be to know silly trivia like that?
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dmiller
Hmmmmm. I remember using *fountain pens* in grade school.
I also remember (in high school), at a football game -- both teams on their hands and knees --
searching for one little contact lense on the playing field that a player lost....
Since they were so new, innovative, and expensive --- at the time.
I also remember moving from the house Mom and Dad rented, to the one that Dad built,
(back in 1955), and them actually buying hamburgers from a *fast food joint*,
so we could eat, and get on with moving.
Buying pre-cooked food was a real novelty back then.
PS --- today I had to explain to a co-worker of mine what Burma-Shave signs were all about.
I made mention of them, and she had NO CLUE what I was talking about!!
I'm feeling old (or is archaic the more proper word?) -- right about now. :(
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Linda Z
Since I love trivia and since I knew some of these items were wrong (and since I obviously have too much time on my hands on a Saturday morning!), here are dates for some of these inventions, mostly taken from about.com. This list has to be a few years old, if "Grandpa" is only 59. :)
July 2, 1928: Charles F. Jenkins begins broadcasting the first regular telecasts designed to be received by the general public; July 12, 1928: First televised tennis match.
The first thing I remember ever seeing on television was professional wrestling, at my grandparents' house. it was about 1950. Their TV had a little round screen. I hated professional wrestling even then.
In 1943, the required clinical trials were performed and penicillin was shown to be the most effective antibacterial agent to date. Penicillin production was quickly scaled up and available in quantity to treat Allied soldiers wounded on D-Day.
Up until this time, soldiers died from infections in their wounds as much as from the wounds themselves.
In 1955 Jonas Salk became a medical hero for developing a vaccine that helped conquer polio.
I still remember all of us children lining up in the gym/cafeteria of our elementary school to get our polio shots!
The first quick-frozen vegetables, fruits, seafoods, and meat were sold to the public for the first time in 1930 in Springfield, Massachusetts, under the tradename Birds Eye Frosted Foods®.
God bless old Clarence. Fresh is best, but frozen beats the heck ouf of canned!
Xerox Corp. was founded in Rochester, NY, in 1906 but under a different name. It was named Xerox Corporation in 1961.
In 1936, William Feinbloom, a NY optometrist, fabricates the first American-made contact lenses and introduces the use of plastic. In 1945, the Amer. Optometric Assn. formally recognizes the growing contact lens field by specifying contact lens fitting as an integral part of the practice of optometry.
The Frisbie Baking Company (1871-1958) of Bridgeport, Connecticut, made pies that were sold to many New England colleges. Hungry college students soon discovered that the empty pie tins could be tossed and caught, providing endless hours of game and sport…. In 1948, a Los Angeles building inspector named Walter Frederick Morrison and his partner Warren Franscioni invented a plastic version of the Frisbie that could fly further and with better accuracy than a tin pie plate.
The birth control pill was introduced to the public in the early 1960s.
In the 1920s, a shopper's plate - a "buy now, pay later" system - was introduced in the USA. It could only be used in the shops which issued it. In 1950, Diners Club and American Express launched their charge cards in the USA, the first "plastic money".
I remember in the 1950s, my mom having a little metal "Charge-a-Plate" with her name and address embossed on it. It was good in all the major department stores downtown.
The invention of the laser, which stands for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, can be dated to 1958 with the publication of the scientific paper, Infrared and Optical Masers, by Arthur L. Schawlow, then a Bell Labs researcher, and Charles H. Townes, a consultant to Bell Labs.
The first man to actually develop and launch a ball-point pen was the Hungarian László Jozsef BÃró (1899-1985) from Budapest, who in 1938 invented a ball-point pen with a pressurized ink cartridge.
I do remember, though, when the first felt-tip pens came out. Remember the "Bic Banana," anyone?
In 1959, Glen Raven Mills of North Carolina introduced pantyhose -- underpants and stockings all in one garment.
They were invented by a man. Figures.
In 1902, only one year after Willis Haviland Carrier graduated from Cornell University with a Masters in Engineering, the first air (temperature and humidity) conditioning was in operation, making one Brooklyn printing plant owner very happy.
In 1886, Josephine Cochran proclaims in disgust "If nobody else is going to invent a dishwashing machine, I'll do it myself." And she did, Josephine Cochran invented the first practical (did the job) dishwasher. Josephine Cochran had expected the public to welcome the new invention, which she unveiled at the 1893, World's Fair, but only the hotels and large restaurants were buying her ideas. It was not until the 1950s that dishwashers caught on with the general public. Josephine Cochran's machine was a hand-operated mechanical dishwasher. She founded a company to manufacture these dishwashers, which eventually became KitchenAid.
Electrical clothes dryers appeared around 1915.
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ChasUFarley
holy crap Linda Z... :blink:
How much coffee have you been drinking?!
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Linda Z
Hahahahaha Chas. But I don't drink coffee.
Actually, it only took me about 30 minutes of Googling to dig up that stuff. It was fun, because I wasn't sure when some of those things took place. Some of them really surprised me.
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Belle
Surprised me, too, Linda. :) I'm going to have to ask my Daddy what he remembers since he IS 59. LOL!
I do remember hearing them talk about being the first house on the street with a television. It was tiny and all the kids in the neighborhood would come over to watch it. (We are the Jones family, you know.
)
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