If we asked you what a zip and the PS4 have in common, would you know? No? Well, according to a survey of 3,900 gadget fans commissioned by Gadget Show Live @ Christmas, they are two of the most influential gadget launches of the last 100 years. In fact, they top and tail the list, with the zip launching in 1913 and the PS4 due for release in November this year.
The list of 100 gadgets (see below) throws up a plethora of fascinating facts. For example, does it make you feel old to know that Dyson’s trailblazing dustbag-free vacuum is 20 this year? That the life-changing Sony Walkman is over 30 years old and Breville’s sandwich maker hits the big 4-0 in 2014? Or that the humble modem was already 37 years old and the Ethernet already 16 by the time Tim Berners Lee developed the World Wide Web in 1989?
The list also shows how gadgets have made a massive impact on our health and fitness over the last century, starting with the design of the artificial heart in 1941. This was followed swiftly by the kidney dialysis machine three years later, the breathalyser in 1955, the hearing aid a year later and the pacemaker in 1958.
Tech has also become an accepted, integrated and much loved part of our kitchens thanks to inventions like Pyrex in 1915, the pop up toaster in 1919 and the electric kettle in 1922. The modern day can opener made an appearance in 1925 just seven years ahead of its electric counterpart. The Teasmade has been brightening many a morning since 1933 and the microwave oven and Kenwood’s food mixer have been helping us make light work of cooking since the 40s.
The full list of the most influential gadget launches over the last century is as follows:
1913 The zip invented by Gideon Sundback
1914 Motorised movie cameras
1915 Pyrex
1916 Electric power drill
1917 Radio tuners
1918 The superheterodyne radio circuit (used in all TVs and radios today)
1919 The pop up toaster
1920 The hairdryer
1921 The modern lie detector
1922 Electric kettle
1923 Self-winding watch
1924 Loudspeaker
1925 Modern day can opener
1926 Tevelox robot
1927 Aerosol can
1928 Baird Television Department Company television
1929 Car radio
1930 Jet engine
1931 Electric razor
1932 Electric can opener
1933 The Teasmade
1934 Zippo lighter
1935 Radar
1936 First voice recognition machine
1937 Dirt Devil
1938 The biro
1939 Helicopter
1940 Modern colour television
1941 Artificial heart
1942 The turboprop engine
1943 The slinky
1944 Kidney dialysis machine
1945 Clock radio
1946 Disposable nappy
1947 Kenwood food mixer
1948 First pager
1949 Photo-Pac disposable camera
1950 Alkaline batteries
1951 Power steering
1952 SAGE modem
1953 Black box flight recorder
1954 Regency pocket radio
1955 Breathalyser
1956 Behind the air hearing aid
1957 Casio digital watch
1958 Pacemaker
1959 Black and Decker cordless drill
1960 Stereos/hi-fis
1961 Kodak Instamatic
1962 LED
1963 The Telefunken ‘mouse’
1964 Plasma television – University of Illinois
1965 Y. Hatano’s pedmoter
1966 El-Gi 1:12 Ferrari radio controlled car
1967 Polaroid
1968 Smoke detector
1969 The Internet
1970 Digital thermometer
1971 Busicom LE-120A Handy pocket calculator
1972 Multi socket power plug
1973 The Ethernet
1974 Breville sandwich maker
1975 Kodak digital camera
1976 Lithium batteries
1977 Mattel Electronic Football
1978 Victor HR-3300REK - first UK VHS video recorder
1979 Texas Instruments Speak and Spell
1980 Sony Walkman
1981 Epson HX-20 - the world’s first laptop
1982 Sony Watchman - CD player
1983 Commodore 64
1984 Sony Discman
1985 The Leatherman
1986 Bose noise cancelling headphones
1987 Sony super VHS camcorder
1988 Digital mobile phones
1989 World Wide Web
1990 Nintendo Game Boy
1991 Nintendo SNES
1992 Palm Pilot
1993 Dyson vacuum cleaner
1994 Digital cordless telephone /Mega Drive
1995 PlayStation 1
1996 Audio Highway - world’s first MP3 player
1997 Motorola StarTac
1998 Panasonic portable DVD player
1999 DVR by TiVo
2000 The Trek Tech/IBM - flash drive
2001 Apple iPod
2002 PlayStation 2
2003 Blackberry 6210
2004 Samsung OLED TV
2005 Xbox 360
2006 SanDisk Micro SD
2007 Apple iPhone
2008 Beats by Dre
2009 Twitter
2010 Apple iPad
2011 Kindle Fire
2012 Nexus 7
2013 PlayStation 4
“When we talk about gadgets, we often talk in terms of the 80s onwards – of phones, laptops and music systems,” said Gadget Show Live @Christmas event manager Katie Tozer.
“But gadgets have been around for hundreds of years. This list, which takes us right back to 1913 with the invention of the zip, a gadget that was so influential it’s still in daily use today – is just the tip of the iceberg and it shows just how integral and essential they have become to the way we live, work and enjoy life today.”
Gadget Show Live @ Christmas takes place at Earls Court in London on 1-3 November and tickets are on sale now at www.gadgetshowlive.net. Jason Bradbury, Pollyanna Woodward and Jon Bentley will present a spectacular hour-long entertainment show in the Super Theatre each day.
