FROM THE ZIP TO THE PS4 – ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF THE WORLD’S MOST INFLUENTIAL GADGETS





[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource GamesPress.]

If we asked you what a zip and the PlayStation 4 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 PlayStation 4 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. Note to editors Opening hours: 9:00am to 6:00pm each day. Press Day: Friday 1 November, to apply for a pass please visit: http://www.gadgetshowlive.net/page.cfm/Action=Form/FormID=2/t=m Gadget Show Live @ Christmas ticket prices: Please note a £0.99 booking fee applies per purchase in advance Event entry only Adults - £14.00 (+ £0.99 booking fee) Child (12 and under) £7.00 (+ £0.99 booking fee) Super Theatre Standard - £9.00 Premium - £16.00 The Gadget Show presenters will be putting on a spectacular show in the Super Theatre with performances at 1100, 1330 and 1600. Get social You can follow Gadget Show Live @ Christmas on Twitter @gadgetshowlive , Facebook at /Gadgetshowlive, Youtube /gadgetshowlivetv and Instagram @gadgetshowlive For more information, please contact: Charlotte Le Rougetel or Matt Bowen at Bastion on [email protected] or 020 7269 7900.