The 1970s were the decade of growth for technology in the West. Apple and IBM were starting to shape up the pop culture, and many iconic inventions were made during the decade, that are still being used. What follows is a list of nine inventions that you had no idea came from the 1970s. Check out the list below and let us know what you think of it;
Although controversial, Ray Tomlinson was the one who sent the first email back in 1971. Ray Tomlinson and Bolt Beranek made a text-based messaging system between computers by making use of the ARPANET network and used ‘@’ symbol for routing messages. On the other hand, we have Shiva Ayyadurai who created the electronic messaging platform in 1978 when he was only fourteen years old and based it on the internal communication system at the University of Medicine. Shiva was given the copyright for ‘EMAIL’, but the actual inventor of email is still a controversy.
Mobile Phone
Welcome to the 1970s, the year is 1973 and senior Engineer Martin Cooper at Motorola has just called the rival company, Bell Laboratories. Why? It is to let the company know that Martin is talking using a mobile phone. The Motorola DynaTAC 8000x weighed in at about a little more than one kilogram and was about a foot in length. You could talk to a friend for thirty minutes on it, but it still needed about ten hours of charging time.
Intel 4004
Intel kicked off the 1970s in style with the first programmable microprocessor making it to the market in 1971. The said microprocessor was named Intel 4004 and was an invention of Stanley Mazor, Federico Faggin, and Ted Hoff. The invention enabled them to earn the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by US President Barack Obama.
Apple II
After Apple I, Apple II was able to define the company’s future in the 1970s. And let’s be honest; we all want to get one or another product of Apple because of its simplicity and functionality.
The Sony Walkman
The Sony Walkman made its way into the market in 1979 and quickly became synonymous with portable music devices. It defined the pop culture moment and was considered a lit device even during the 1990s.
The Rubik’s Cube
It was created by Erno Rubik, who was a Hungarian architecture professor. It was used for presenting information pertinent to spatial relationships to his students in compelling and more interesting ways. Erno Rubik never thought or intended the cube to become a top-selling toy.
The Digital Camera
The digital camera laid the foundation of the cameras that we make use of today. The first digital camera was created by Kodak engineer Steven Sasson. It weighed about eight pounds and was able to take 0.01-megapixel black-and-white pictures that were recorded on cassette tapes. It took twenty-three seconds for capturing a picture and connections to the television set had to be made in order for it to work.
Floppy Disk
If you are a 90s kids, then you know quite well about the floppy disks. They were created by IBM in 1971 and were used for distribution of software or for transferring data and making backups. Their storage capacity, however, was limited to 1.44MB.
LED Display Pocket Calculator
This calculator came with an integrated circuit and LED display that helped people carry out calculations. However, it was not cheap and came with a price tag of $395.
There is no controversy about who sent the first electronic mail from computer to computer in 1971: it was Ray Tomlinson. Shiva is the only person who thinks there is a controversy.