Technology from 1940-1980

Super Glue was invented in 1942, but it was rediscovered and publicized in 1951 by Harry Coover and Fred Joyner

The first diet soda was made by Kirsch Bottling, under the name of No-Cal. At the time it was intended for diabetics, not dieters

George Lerner came up with the idea for a "funny face man" by sticking foods together.

The first video tape recorder (VTR) was built in 1952 for use by the BBC.

Edward Teller and Stanislaw Ulam tested the first hydrogen bomb on November 1st, 1952. The hydrogen bomb is a much more powerful version of the atom.

The first test with oral contraceptives began in the December of 1954.

After the starting of the original store in 1940, McDonald's was turned into a franchise in 1955.

IBM introduced HDDs in 1956 for one of their computers

Charles Townes and Arthur Schawlow patented the first laser while working at Bell Labs.

The computer modem was originally put into place to help the USA's air defense system.

Earl Bakken developed an external pacemaker, first used on a patient of Doctor Walton Lillehi.

The first successful demonstration of a working microchip took place in 1958, demonstrated by Jack Kilby

Philips, an electronics company, first invented the cassette tape in 1962 for audio storage

Spacewar! is considered one of if not the first computer games ever created. It's creators are Dan Edwards, Peter Samson, and Greatz.

Valium (Diazepam) was released by Hoffmann-La Rochte, a Swiss health care company. Valium has a wide range of uses

The video disk was invented in 1963. It looks like an over-sized CD and could hold high quality audio and video to show movies with

Rowney started producing acrylic pain, a fast-drying water-based paint, in 1964.

Though produced in the 80's, the concepts and prototypes for the CD were created in 1965 by James Russell

Contact lenses had been around for a while, but soft lenses were first approved in 1965.

Kevlar, used in many defense items, was thought if in 1964 and created in 1965 by Stephanie Kwolek. She was looking for a way to create better car tires at the time.

The first handheld calculator was invented by Texas Instruments in 1967. It was called Cal Tech and printed its answers out on paper.

Robert H. Dennard invented the first RAM (Random Access Memory) in 1968. This paved the way for better computers.

The first common Automated Teller Machine was market in 1969 by the Burroughs Corporation.

The first barcode scanner was installed in 1969 at a Buick factory in Michigan. We use them whenever we shop nowadays.

Floppy Disks, very compact computer storage at the time, became available to the public in 1971.

The first microprocessors came in 1971, making leaps in computer technology.

The first video cassette recorder (VCR) was released publicly in Japan in 1971.

Liquid Crystal Displays, often seen in digital clocks, first made major improvements towards usability when a patent was filed in 1971

The first public video-game, Pong, was released by Atari in 1972.

Ethernet, the first step the Internet, was invented by Xerox in 1973.

Liposuction, the surgical removal of fat, was invented in 1974 by Giorgio Fischer.

The laser printer, perhaps the most used type of printer today, was created in 1975.

The other common type of printer, the Ink Jet Printer, was released in 1976.

Raymond V. Damadian invented Magnetic Resonance Imaging in 1977. It's now used commonly in medicine.

NTT launched the first public cell phone network in Japan in 1979.

Sony started selling the Walkman, a personal music player, in 1979 in Japan.