inventions of the 1970s
Inventions of the 1970s
The 20th century has seen some of the best inventions. Here's a list of inventions of the 1970s that made it big!
Ever since the industrial revolution, there has been no looking back. There have been numerous inventions across the world, across time. How these super inventions have changed our lives forever, by making them much easier and hassle free, we have living proof of. Our lives have become so uncomplicated, that we have begun to take it for granted. But we must not forget the efforts and pains that great scientists put into making this happen. So, let us take a look at some of the important inventions of the 1970s in this article. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised to know, when some of the gadgets and technologies that you use today, were invented! So fasten your seat belts, and get ready to take a trip back in time! Here we go!
Famous Inventions of the 1970s
Some of the greatest inventions of all time were made in the 1970s. Many great inventions followed in the coming decades, however, it was the inventions of the '70s that set the tone for them. Given below are some of these.
I'm sure you'll agree that they can be called some inventions that changed the world. So let's just thank them, for paving the way for some of the other inventions that were made after the above-mentioned ones.
*Invention Name of Inventor |
Year | About the Invention |
Lead Free Petrol Eugene Houdry |
1970 | This French engineer (mechanical) discovered the method of catalytic cracking in fuel. |
DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) Robert Dennard (Intel) |
1970 | Within 2 years, this semiconducting memory chip had become a bestselling product! |
Floppy Disk David Noble (IBM) |
1971 | It is a medium to store data, used in computers. It has a thin magnetic tape disk, which is enclosed in a plastic cover. |
Pocket Calculators Busicom |
1971 | The predecessors to the hi-tech digital calculators that are used all across the world by students, businessmen, etc. |
Microprocessors 3 simultaneous inventions by Intel, Texas Instruments and Garrett AiResearch |
1971 | The major component of all the CPUs in computers. |
Word Processor Micropro International |
1972 | The first software that processed words, WordStar, was invented. |
Video Game Pong Nolan Bushnell |
1972 | PSP bows down to thee! |
Disposable Lighters S. T. Dupont Company |
1972 | The first to switch from naphtha to butane, as butane has less odor and its flammability can be controlled. |
Peter Powell Stunt Kite Peter Powell |
1972 | A steerable kite, using glass fiber spars. |
Xerox Alto Xerox PARC |
1973 | This was the first personal computer that used the graphic user interface. |
Genetically Modified Organisms Herbert Boyer & Stanley Cohen |
1973 | Basically, it is genetic engineering, using DNA to create another of its kind. |
Post-it Notes Arthur Fry |
1974 | This was invented out of sheer frustration, when a colleague's bookmarks kept falling out of his book! |
Rubik's cube Ernő Rubik |
1974 | The great professor of architecture from Hungary won the German Game of the Year in the Best Puzzle category, in 1974, for this mind-boggling toy. |
Liposuction Giorgio Fischer |
1974 | This gynecologist from Rome, Italy invented the practice that has become very popular among middle aged women today. |
Digital cameras Steve Sasson (from Kodak) |
1975 | Now you know why it's called a Kodak Moment! |
Hybrid Cars and Vehicles Victor Wouk |
1975 | A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses more than a single source of power. The Prius used by the NYPD (Traffic) is an example. |
Laser Printer Gary Starkweather |
1975 | He built it at Xerox, and it was completely perfected by the next year. |
Gore-Tex Wilbert L Gore |
1976 | It is a fabric that is water resistant and breathes. |
Ink-jet Printer Popularized by Siemens |
1976 | Though it was invented in 1976, it gained momentum only in the 1980s. |
Cell Phone technology Bell Labs |
1977 | The first of many innovations in the concept of cellular radio network. |
Personal Stereo Andreas Pavel |
1977 | This inventor was born in Germany, but he was Brazilian. His portable stereo was an earlier version of the Walkman. |
Spreadsheets Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston |
1978 | VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet document invented and was released for public use on Apple II systems. |
Jarvik-7 Robert K. Jarvik |
1978 | William DeVries, a surgeon placed the artificial heart into the body of Dr. Barney Clark, a dentist. Dr. Clark survived for 112 days! |
The Sony Walkman Sony |
1979 | The first walkman, with stereo playback and headphones was sold in Japan. |
RollerBlades Scott and Brennan Olson |
1979 | These brothers got the idea from in-line skates, and their product was immediately popular with ice skaters. |
Cray supercomputer Seymour Cray |
1979 | The first supercomputer to be invented. They are used for airplane safety, weather prediction, etc. |