100 Fascinating Facts about Technology

100 Fascinating Facts about Technology

1. The first computer programmer was Ada Lovelace, who wrote algorithms for Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine in the 1840s.
2. The first electronic computer, ENIAC, weighed 30 tons and used more than 17,000 vacuum tubes.
3. The first mobile phone call was made on April 3, 1973, by Martin Cooper, who worked for Motorola.
4. The first email was sent by Ray Tomlinson in 1971, who used the @ symbol to separate the user from the host.
5. The first website, created by Tim Berners-Lee, went live on August 6, 1991.
6. The first video game, Pong, was released in 1972 and was a simple table tennis simulation.
7. The first commercial cell phone, the DynaTAC 8000X, was released in 1983 and had a price tag of $3,995.
8. The first commercial digital camera, the Kodak DCS-100, was released in 1991 and had a resolution of 1.3 megapixels.
9. The first text message, “Merry Christmas,” was sent in 1992 by Neil Papworth to Richard Jarvis.
10. The first smartphone, IBM Simon, was introduced in 1994 and included features like a touchscreen and email capabilities.
11. The first successful live-stream of a video online took place in 1995.
12. The first USB flash drive, with a storage capacity of 8MB, was released in 2000.
13. The first commercial GPS device, the Garmin GPS-100, was released in 1990 and cost $2,500.
14. The first public demonstration of a mouse-controlled graphical user interface was done by Doug Engelbart in 1968.
15. The first computer hard drive, IBM 350, was introduced in 1956 and had a storage capacity of 3.75 megabytes.
16. The first commercial computer modem, the Bell 101, was released in 1958 and had a data transfer rate of 110 bits per second.
17. The first computer mouse was invented by Douglas Engelbart and was made of wood.
18. The first mass-produced microprocessor, Intel 4004, was introduced in 1971 and had 2,300 transistors.
19. The first digital music player, the MPMan F10, was released in 1998 and had a storage capacity of 32MB.
20. The first commercial video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, was released in 1972.
21. The first commercial CD player, the Sony CDP-101, was released in 1982.
22. The first 3D printer, called SLA-1, was developed by Chuck Hull in 1983.
23. The first successful flight of the Wright brothers’ airplane, the Wright Flyer, took place on December 17, 1903.
24. The first commercially available digital assistant, Apple Newton, was released in 1993.
25. The first commercial video cassette recorder, the Ampex VRX-1000, was released in 1956.
26. The first computer to defeat a human world chess champion, Deep Blue, defeated Garry Kasparov in 1997.
27. The first computer-generated feature-length film, Toy Story, was released by Pixar in 1995.
28. The first e-commerce transaction, the sale of a CD by the band Sting, took place on August 11, 1994.
29. The first computer animation, titled “Hummingbird,” was created by Edward E. Zajac in 1963.
30. The first graphical web browser, Mosaic, was released in 1993.
31. The first digital video recorder (DVR), TiVo, was released in 1999.
32. The first home video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, had removable game cartridges.
33. The first laptop computer, the Osborne 1, was introduced in 1981 and weighed 24 pounds.
34. The first computer virus, known as the Creeper virus, was discovered in 1971.
35. The first computer-animated feature film, Toy Story, was released by Pixar Animation Studios in 1995.
36. The first successful cloning of a mammal, Dolly the sheep, took place in 1996.
37. The first public demonstration of a telephone, by Alexander Graham Bell, took place in 1876.
38. The first successful landing on the moon was achieved by the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.
39. The first commercially available digital camera, the Dycam Model 1, was released in 1990.
40. The first web browser, WorldWideWeb, was developed by Tim Berners-Lee in 1990.

41. The first commercially available tablet computer, the Apple iPad, was released in 2010.
42. The first artificial heart transplant was performed in 1982 by Dr. Barney Clark.
43. The first successful test of the atomic bomb, code-named Trinity, took place in 1945.
44. The first consumer digital video camera, the Sony Handycam, was released in 1983.
45. The first computer-controlled car, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, was introduced in 1998.
46. The first commercial telegraph line, connecting Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, was completed in 1844.
47. The first electric light bulb, invented by Thomas Edison, was successfully demonstrated in 1879.
48. The first commercial video game console to use optical discs, the Sega CD, was released in 1991.
49. The first commercial GPS navigation system, the Magellan NAV 1000, was introduced in 1989.
50. The first commercial e-book reader, the Rocket eBook, was released in 1998.
51. The first 3D-printed organ transplant, a kidney, was successfully performed in 2013.
52. The first successful telegraph message, sent by Samuel Morse, was “What hath God wrought?” in 1844.
53. The first commercial digital wristwatch, the Pulsar, was released by Hamilton in 1972.
54. The first successful electric car, the Baker Electric, was introduced in 1897.
55. The first commercial computer with a graphical user interface, the Xerox Alto, was developed in the 1970s.
56. The first computer hard disk drive, the IBM 305 RAMAC, was introduced in 1956 and had a capacity of 5 megabytes.
57. The first online search engine, Archie, was developed in 1990 and indexed FTP archives.
58. The first commercial video game console with a CD-ROM drive, the Sega Saturn, was released in 1994.
59. The first commercial high-definition television (HDTV) broadcast took place in Japan in 1989.
60. The first commercial electric vehicle, the EV1, was released by General Motors in 1996.
61. The first commercial barcode scanner was used in a supermarket in 1974.
62. The first consumer digital camera with built-in Wi-Fi, the Nikon Coolpix S7c, was released in 2005.
63. The first commercial magnetic tape storage system, the IBM 726, was introduced in 1952.
64. The first computer-controlled robotic arm, the Unimate, was installed in a General Motors factory in 1961.
65. The first computer mouse with a scroll wheel was introduced by Microsoft in 1996.
66. The first commercially available virtual reality headset, the Oculus Rift, was released in 2016.
67. The first commercial wireless headphones, the Sony Walkman, were introduced in 1979.
68. The first successful human genome sequencing was completed in 2003, as part of the Human Genome Project.
69. The first commercially available home video game console, the Atari 2600, was released in 1977.
70. The first computer-aided design (CAD) software, Sketchpad, was developed by Ivan Sutherland in 1963.
71. The first successful artificial intelligence program, ELIZA, was developed in the 1960s.
72. The first commercial handheld calculator, the HP-35, was introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1972.
73. The first commercially available color television, the RCA CT-100, was introduced in 1954.
74. The first commercially available home robot, the iRobot Roomba, was introduced in 2002.
75. The first commercial gaming console with motion-sensing technology, the Nintendo Wii, was released in 2006.
76. The first commercially available portable MP3 player, the Diamond Rio PMP300, was released in 1998.
77. The first consumer drone, the Parrot AR.Drone, was introduced in 2010.
78. The first successful in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure, resulting in the birth of Louise Brown, took place in 1978.
79. The first computer-generated feature film, Toy Story, was released by Pixar Animation Studios in 1995.
80. The first commercial wearable fitness tracker, the Fitbit, was released in 2009.

81. The first commercially available 3D printer, the 3D Systems SLA-1, was introduced in 1987.
82. The first commercially available virtual assistant, Apple’s Siri, was introduced in 2011.
83. The first commercial compact disc (CD) was released in 1982.
84. The first commercially available electric car with long-range capabilities, the Tesla Roadster, was introduced in 2008.
85. The first commercially available digital voice assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, was introduced in 2014.
86. The first commercially available smartwatch, the IBM Simon, was introduced in 1994.
87. The first successful gene editing using CRISPR-Cas9, a revolutionary gene-editing technology, took place in 2012.
88. The first commercial robot vacuum cleaner, the Electrolux Trilobite, was introduced in 2001.
89. The first commercial computer with a graphical user interface and a mouse, the Xerox Alto, was developed in the 1970s.
90. The first commercial streaming service, Netflix, was launched in 1997 as a DVD-by-mail service.
91. The first commercially available electric car with fully autonomous driving capabilities, the Tesla Model S, was introduced in 2014.
92. The first commercially available e-reader with an E Ink display, the Sony Librie, was introduced in 2004.
93. The first commercially available electric car with mass-market appeal, the Nissan Leaf, was introduced in 2010.
94. The first commercial video game console with motion-sensing controllers, the Nintendo Wii, was released in 2006.
95. The first commercially available smart home device, the Nest Learning Thermostat, was introduced in 2011.
96. The first commercial self-driving car, the Google self-driving car, began testing on public roads in 2009.
97. The first commercially available smartphone with a touchscreen, the IBM Simon, was introduced in 1994.
98. The first commercially available augmented reality headset, the Microsoft HoloLens, was released in 2016.
99. The first commercial space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, was founded by Richard Branson in 2004.
100. The first commercially available foldable smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Fold, was introduced in 2019.

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