Hello, World!
0 
Automatic dishwasher
People who love to eat but hate to clean owe a debt to Josephine Cochran, an inventor who first exhibited her automatic dishwasher at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. Cochran's washer was operated using a hand crank and only restaurants and hotels bought the machine. By the 1950s, however, companies began to make dishwashers for home use.
Ice cream cone
Ice cream cones were invented before the 20th century, but became popular at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. According to lore, sellers of Arabian-Persian waffles at the fair began to wrap their waffles around ice cream, which had been served on plates before. After the fair, entrepreneurs perfected the waffle cone and eating ice cream in a cone quickly caught on.
Television
Television became a viable technology in the 1930s, but the world had few TV sets and broadcasting was extremely limited. The 1939-40 New York World's Fair dramatically changed that. RCA, the forerunner of U.S. media giant NBC Universal, started regular broadcasting on the eve of the fair and also began selling TV sets. U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt made the first presidential TV speech at the fair. The popularity and influence of TV were set to explode.
Nylon stockings
Before the 1939-40 New York World's Fair, silk stockings were a luxury – one destined to become more rare with silk supplies cut off by war. Stockings made of nylon – the world's first synthetic fiber – were a natural substitute. After introducing nylon stockings at the New York Expo, the product sold out quickly. But women had to wait a few years to buy nylon stockings freely – the new fiber was reserved exclusively for parachutes during the Second World War.
Robot
"Elektro" and "Sparko" – a robot man and dog – appeared at the 1939-40 New York World's Fair, giving people a cheesy vision of what a robotic future might be. Built by Westinghouse Electric Company, the linebacker-sized Elektro could be electrically controlled to walk; move its head and arms; say about 700 words using a 78-rpm record "voice;" and even smoke. Elektro later became a film star – starring as "Thinko" in a racy 1960 movie.
Go to Forum >>0 Comments