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Gutenburg's Printing Press
I grew up reading sci-fi books and video game guides before my parents would let me get a computer or a wii or a phone and they sparked my interest in computers. Gutenberg's printing press was a revolutionary tool for rolling out info, instead of needing to wait for teams of monks to transcribe the bible it could be done by a small team in a short period of time. The book doesn't mention the fact that Gutenburg experimented with colored ink which his successors used later with great success. -
The Telephone
The telephone is an invention which in this day and age impacts all of us not only on a daily basis but maybe even down to a minutely basis for some. It was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 which allowed for communication between 2 people verbally over long distances. The idea was thought of as early as 1844 by Innocenzo Manzetti but was then known as a "speaking telegraph" -
The Cash Register
I've worked in retail since I was 15 so I can definitely say I'm very familiar with a cash register and it's definitely made my life easier than if I had to take the money and do all the calculations by hand. In 1879 the first cash register was invented by James Ritty for his saloon in Ohio and was designed mainly to stop theft from within the store from employees and not actually designed to stop outside theft and robberies. -
The first television broadcast
For me TV has always been a tool for learning and entertainment. It can bring us places we've never been and show us new facts about the world. in 1927 Philo Farnsworth created and sent the first fully electronic TV transmission. The book describes how influential TV has been but a fact I particularly like is that TV totally changed politics. In the Nixon vs Kennedy presidential debates Kennedy's approval rates easily beat out Nixon's due to how much better he was at presenting himself. -
Personal Computers
My dad had a laptop he'd bring home from work when I was little and I'd play games on it which helped to spark my interest in computers. The first "personal computer" was technically available in 1946 as a single (very qualified person) could operate some models but it wasn't until the 70s that they really left the business/ government world and started to enter peoples private lives, and even then only a little. Not in the book but interesting, 2011 was the biggest year for PC sales so far. -
Sources
The info about the TV and Nixon and Kennedy is from https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/kennedy-nixon-debates
The rest of the info and the Cash register, Laptop, Printing Press, and Phone photo are from wikipedia, https://www.wikipedia.org/
The TV image is from https://www.cnn.com/2013/10/28/living/gallery/summer-of-1927/index.html
