-
Electric Razor
Although there were early experiments with clockwork and friction motor, electric razors didnt appear until the 1930s. The electric razor was actually invented by Canadian Jacob Schick in the 1920s. He thought for sure that a mans age could be extended to 120 years if he properly shaved. -
Period: to
Rock and Roll
-
The Jukebox
The juke joint was a spot for dancing, and the jukebox provided the music. By 1927, The Automatic Music Instrument Company created the world's first electrically amplified multi selection phonograph. With this amplification, suddenly the Jukebox could compete with a large orchestra, for the cost of a nickel. Prohibition assured the jukeboxes success, as every underground speakeasy needed music, but could not afford a live band. Tavern owners were privileged to have a jukebox. -
Electric Guitar
Electric Guitar History takes us to 1930, where after being fired by National String Instrument Company, George Beauchamp began looking for new ways to increase the volume of the guitar. It was common knowledge by this time that passing a wire through a magnetic field produced a change in magnetic field intensity which in turn could be used to create a changing electric current in a properly coupled coil of wire. -
LIttle Richard
Born Richard Wayne Penniman on December 5, 1932, in Macon, Georgia, Little Richard helped define the early rock ‘n’ roll era of the 1950s with his driving, flamboyant sound. With his croons, wails and screams, he turned songs like “Tutti-Frutti” and “Long Tall Sally” into huge hits and he influenced bands such as the Beatles. -
Elvis Presley
Musician and actor Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. From very humble beginnings, Presley grew up to become one of the biggest names in rock 'n' roll. By the mid-1950s, he appeared on the radio, television and the silver screen. On August 16, 1977, at age 42, he died of heart failure, which was related to his drug addiction. Since his death, Presley has remained one of the world's most popular music icons. -
Janis Joplin
Born January 19, 1943, in Port Arthur, Texas, Janis Joplin developed a love of music at an early age, but her career never really took off until she joined Big Brother in 1966. Their album Cheap Thrills was a huge hit, but caused strife between Joplin and the band. Joplin left and her second solo album became her most successful, but she died of an accidental overdose before it was released. -
Sun Screen
Benjamin Green, an airman and pharmacist, uses a greasy substance called “red vet pet” (red veterinary petrolatum) to protect himself and other soldiers from ultraviolet rays during World War II. Heavy and unpleasant, it works primarily as a physical barrier between the skin and the sun. -
Lipstick
It was soon after World War II that Miss Bishop, a trained chemist who had worked in a dermatologist's laboratory, developed a nondrying, nonirritating, long-wearing lipstick. (Long-lasting types contain high amounts of colorants called bromo acids that have staining qualities.) In 1950, she formed Hazel Bishop Inc. to manufacture and market her discovery. -
Video Games
William Higinbotham created the first video game ever in 1958. His game, called "Tennis for Two," was created and played on a Brookhaven National Laboratory oscilloscope. -
Rolling Stones
In 1962, one of the most successful and critically acclaimed rock bands of all time, The Rolling Stones was started in London. Named after, the Muddy Water’s song “Rollin’ Stone," the original band included frontman Mick Jagger, guitarists Keith Richards and Brian Jones, bassist Bill Wyman, drummer Charlie Watts and pianist Ian Stewart. Guitarist Ron Wood joined Jagger, Richards and Watts in 1975. -
Lava Lamp
Edward Craven Walker got the idea for the original lamp design after walking into a pub in Hampshire, England and noticing a rather odd item sitting on the counter behind the bar. He spent the next 15 years perfecting the invention so that it could be mass-produced. The Astro Lamp, later called the Lava Lamp, was launched in 1963 just ahead of the craze for all things psychedelic. -
Slash
Slash was born Saul Hudson in London, England, in 1965. He grew up in Los Angeles and learned to play bass as a teenager. In 1985 he joined Guns N’ Roses and earned international acclaim for riffs on songs like ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine.’ After leaving GNR in 1996, he did session work and formed other bands, like Velvet Revolver. Slash suffered heart failure in 2001. His autobiography was released in 2007. -
Aerosmith
An up-close look inside the bestselling American hard rock band of all time, from their early days in Boston and their rise to fame in the 70s to their first taste of super-stardom, this is the band as we've never seen them before. We'll reveal the impact of drug addiction, hard times in the 80s, and their resurrection which many call the greatest comeback in rock 'n' roll history. -
Compact Disk (CD)
Starting in the mid 1980's, compact discs (CD) began to take over both the audio and computer program market. Much of this can be attributed to a general acceptance of certain specifications regarding compact discs, known as the "Color Books." Originally designed and developed by both Sony and Phillips, the concept of the Color Books was patented and standards were developed. These are a collection of five books that describe the specifications and standards CD technology follows. -
Metallica
Since forming in 1981, San Francisco Bay Area band Metallica has gone from an underground heavy metal band to one of the most successful groups in the world. Their breakout album was Metallica (otherwise known as the Black Album.) Released in 1991, it was a huge hit that brought Metallica worldwide success. They were universally hailed as the band that brought Metal to the mainstream. -
The Red Hot Chili Peppers
You could view the Red Hot Chili Peppers as a band of four individuals but they prefer to be seen as "One Positive Mental Octopus." Conceived in a Los Angeles living room in 1983, the Red Hots have continually elevated their hybrid brand of funk, heavy and melodic music over two decades. Along the way, Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith, John Frusciante and the Flea have found enormous success -- six Grammys in 2007 for their Rock Album of the Year "Stadium Arcadium" -- but they have also experienced tr -
Guns N' Roses
Originating in Los Angeles in June 1985. Meet the "bad boys" of rock 'n' roll in this fascinating portrait of Axl Rose, Slash, Tracii Guns and their mates. The group took the music world by storm with their aptly titled first album, "Appetite for Destruction." They brought new influences such as blues, classic rock, and punk to heavy metal before internal pressures blew the band apart. Today, Axl Rose is the only original member still with the band. -
Mp3 Player
In 1987, The German company Fraunhofer-Gesellshaft developed MP3 technology and now licenses the patent rights to the audio compression technology - United States Patent 5,579,430 for a "digital encoding process". The inventors named on the MP3 patent are Bernhard Grill, Karl-Heinz Brandenburg, Thomas Sporer, Bernd Kurten, and Ernst Eberlein.
