Did You Know? Cool Tech Facts

In our video, we shared 13 little-known cool tech facts. Here are ten more.

First Fax Machine: The first practical fax machine, the "Pantelegraph," was invented by Giovanni Caselli in 1861. It used a combination of mechanical and chemical processes to scan images and text and transmit them over telegraph lines, predating Alexander Graham Bell's telephone. However, Alexander Bain was the first person to send an image over a wire in 1843.

First Artificial Intelligence Program: While Alan Turing conceptualized the idea of artificial intelligence, Arthur Samuel developed one of the first self-learning programs in 1956: a checkers-playing program that learned from its games. He also popularized the term "machine learning."

First Email Sent: Ray Tomlinson sent the first email in 1971. He used the @ symbol to connect the user name with the destination computer, a format that has become standard in email addresses.

First Portable Music Player: The first portable music player was the Sony Walkman, introduced in 1979. It revolutionized how people listened to music by allowing them to carry cassette tapes and listen to music on the go.

First Digital Camera: An Eastman Kodak engineer, Steven Sasson, invented the first digital camera in 1975. It used a CCD image sensor and recorded black-and-white images onto a cassette tape. The camera weighed over 8 pounds and took 23 seconds to capture a single image.

First Online Sale: The first known wholly online sale (where money was exchanged digitally) was in 1994 when Dan Kohn sold a CD of Sting's album "Ten Summoner's Tales" to a friend in Philadelphia via his website NetMarket.

First 3D Printer: Chuck Hull developed the first 3D printer, SLA-1, in 1984. He invented stereolithography, a process that solidifies layers of liquid resin using UV lasers, creating a three-dimensional object.

First Computer Virus: The first computer virus, called "Creeper," was written by Bob Thomas in 1971. It was a self-replicating program that spread across ARPANET, the precursor to the internet, displaying the message, "I'm the creeper: catch me if you can!" Thomas had no ill intent when he created the virus.

First Video Streaming Service: The first video streaming service, RealVideo, was launched by RealNetworks in 1997. It hosted the first public, live stream: a baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners. RealVideo allowed users to watch videos over the internet, paving the way for the development of modern streaming services like Netflix and YouTube.

First GPS Satellite: The first GPS satellite, Navstar 1, was launched by the United States in 1978. This satellite was part of the Navstar Global Positioning System run by the U.S. Government. President Ronald Reagan made the system available for civilian use in 1983.