Technology

How much did the first cellphone weigh?

How much did the first cellphone weigh?

Were you one of those rich kids who got a cellphone right when they came out? Or were you like me and didn't get one until you had a full-time adult job and still had to get the cheapest possible option you could find? Either way, those who lived through...

How much did the first consumer microwave cost?

How much did the first consumer microwave cost?

It's hard to imagine a time when you couldn't reheat last night's dinner, warm up a burrito, or have a fresh bag of popcorn at the simple press of a button. The microwave oven is now a staple in every kitchen, and you can pick one up for less than...

What was Google originally called?

What was Google originally called?

I actually remember what the internet was like before search engines came along. It was about 30 minutes of getting a stable connection (assuming you didn't just get a busy signal), and then just an endless series of links nested within more links. It was much less about finding what...

What did the first email ever sent say?

What did the first email ever sent say?

Were you an early adopter when email came out? Did you nab the username that's just your first initial and last name, without even needing to add some random number at the end? Do you still use one of the original email providers, like Yahoo! or Hotmail? Even if you...

How many patents did Thomas Edison hold by the time he died?

How many patents did Thomas Edison hold by the time he died?

Did Edison actually invent the lightbulb? I honestly don't care. The dude started working on railroads and making a decent salary at the age of 13, so I give him, at the very least, the fact that he made lightbulbs consumer-friendly — and we wouldn't have had electric lighting at the...

What was the first computer virus called?

What was the first computer virus called?

I went through a phase after seeing Hackers in 1995. It involved some AOL Instant Messages and downloading some mostly-harmless apps (mostly). The height of my hacking career came when I got kicked off of AOL for using a hacked version of Instant Messenger that gave me access to some...

When did the Walkman come out?

When did the Walkman come out?

It's not that prior to the release of the Sony Walkman you couldn't take your music with you, it's just that the options really sucked — especially if you wanted to jam out to your favorite cassette. Yes, there were technically portable options, but nothing that truly acted as a personal...