The bikini was born in 1946, which means it turns 60 this year, just like the leading edge of the Boomers. Boomers may be bigger than we were years ago, but bikinis are smaller.Cassette tapes premiered in 1963, but it took more than 15 years for them to virtually replace vinyl. CDs replaced cassettes as the primary music delivery system but CDs are now on the way out, soon to be replaced by downloadable digital formats.
ZIP Codes started in 1963 and became mandatory in 1967. Older Boomers might remember the 2-digit system and younger Boomers might never have heard of this.
Cruise control was first offered in the 1958 Chrysler New Yorker and on all Cadillac models by 1960. It is standard equipment on most cars now.Barbie Dolls hit the stores in 1959, so Barbie is a Boomer. Ken is Gen-X, however, because he didn’t show up till 1965.
An interesting sidebar about the buxom Barbie: her inventor and Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler battled breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy in 1970. She wasn’t happy with the available prosthetic breasts so she designed a more natural one herself, called it Nearly Me and got a patent for it in 1975.
The disposable diaper was first produced in 1950. Whew.
Eight-track tape players debuted in 1965. The device was invented by Bill Lear, the same guy who designed the Lear Jet. One out of two ain’t bad.The Jacuzzi was invented in 1968 by a guy named Roy Jacuzzi. Really.
Play-Doh was introduced in 1955. It was originally designed as wallpaper cleaner, but it’s inventor realized it was fun to play with and non-toxic.
The TV Remote first came out in 1950. Why? Were our parents too lazy to get up to flip from one channel to the other one? This remote was connected to the television by a wire and it was called the Lazy Bones Remote Control. The first wireless remote was introduced in 1956, when there were twice as many channels!The battery-operated smoke detector was patented in 1969.
I found much of this information here: http://inventors.about.com/library/bl/bl12.htm. It’s the perfect site for timeline geeks like me.
3 comments:
The wireless remote goes back to 1956...really?
The funny thing about eight-track tapes is that they offered no improvement(that I could see)to cassette tapes. They were more cumbersome and if I remember correctly you couldn't record on them.
What were they thinking...more importantly, when I bought some, what the hell was I thinking?
That 1956 wireless remote used a technology that required pointing the remote directly at the receiving spot on the TV. Decades later the technology changed to the more convenient remotes we use now.
Eight-tracks were such a waste of time, weren't they? Manufacturers didn't always make the songs line up with the track changes, so the song would fade out for a few seconds, the track would change and the song would continue. That sucks when it's Stairway To Heaven; not that I, uhh, know this first hand or anything.
LMAO at your "Stairway to Heaven" comment. I listened to 8 tracks a lot with my parents while growing up. I always thought that was pretty stupid too. Why couldn't they make the songs play all the way through?
Thanks for the history Bernie, I always like it when you enlighten me. *and it gives me more useless knowledge to annoy my husband with*...I guess it's not so useless then?
LeeAndra
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