32. Tape-Measure
31. Camera: 1900 the Brownie went on sale for five shillings.
30. Black and Decker Workmate
29. Fax Machine
28. Blackberry: 150 million handsets worldwide.
27. CD Player: An early ’80s wonder.
26. Corkscrew: Over 50,000 models ... Our search has been for a better corkscrew.
25. Remote Control
24. Mobile Phone: The mobile phone has changed the world.
23. Teas-Maid: A product of postwar Britain.
22. Sat-Nav
21. Folding Bicycle
20. Record Player
19. Kettle
18. Sewing Machine
17. Swiss Army Knife
16. Apple Computers/Desktop Computers/Internet
15. Wii
14. Digital Cameras
13. iPhone
12. Transistor Radio
11. Microwave Ovens & Ready Meals
10. iPad & Apps: Almost a tablet of faith.
9. Apple-Pealer
8. Ballpoint Pen: ‘Pens give you great literature.’ Brian Sewell
7. Telephone
6. Laptop
5. Typewriter: ‘I like the thump. The clickety-clank.’ Brian Sewell
4. Television: The television got a great reception.
3. iPod
2. Watch
1. Lighter: The need for fire on demand.
One servant is worth a thousand gadgets. J A Schumpeter
Dreams about the future are always filled with gadgets. Neil deGrasse Tyson
Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can’t be good for you. Prince
Some people are a little bit afraid about the future because they see all these gadgets and gizmos coming down the pike and they think they’re too old to learn all this new stuff. But eventually they begin to realize, Hey, some of this stuff is useful. Michio Kaku
All these gadgets, the phone and the computer, they expose the inside of your brain in a way that’s bad. Michel Gondry
Whether it’s the set or those clever gadgets ... Gadgets and gimmicks. Bradley Walsh, Come on Down! The Game Show Story IV, ITV 2014
I’ll be exploring what their leisure time might look like in the future. Back in Time for the Weekend, BBC 2016
The very latest cleaning robots designed to take housework off our hands completely. ibid.
A part inside the printer has failed, and the manufacturer sends Marcos to Technical Support. It’s no coincidence that all three shopkeepers suggest buying a new printer. If he agrees, Marcus will become another victim of planned obsolescence, the secret mechanism at the heart of our consumer society. The Lightbulb Conspiracy, 2010
Planned obsolescence has defined our lives ever since the 1920s when manufacturers started shortening the lives of products to increase consumer demand. ibid.
Shelly’s formula for a long-lasting filament is not the only mystery in the history of the lightbulb; a much bigger secret is how the humble lightbulb became the first victim of planned obsolescence. ibid.
‘In 1925 they appointed a group called The 1000 Hour Life Committee.’ ibid.
‘It’s just designed to fail.’ ibid. investigator of broken printers
‘But in the Ipod, this expensive piece of hardware, when the battery died you had to replace the entire unit.’ ibid. investigator of broken Ipods
Planned obsolescence produces a constant stream of waste which is shipped to third-world countries. ibid.
Smart technology represents less of a breakthrough in power distribution and more of a revolution in complete constant panopticon surveillance of everyone. The Corbett Report: Data is the New Oil, James Corbett online November 2017
Before you’re born they use medical devices to find out when you’re gonna be born. When you’re born they use medical devices to find out how healthy you are. When you’re growing up oftimes they use medical devices to enhance what’s going on with you. Medical devices are a way of life in America. The Bleeding Edge, 2018
‘The medical device industry is a three-hundred-billion a year industry. This is big business.’ ibid. Dr Michael Carome, director Public Citizen Health Research Group
‘The device industry has much more power than Pharma.’ ibid. expert
‘Over the past ten years nearly 70 million Americans have been implanted with medical devices.’ ibid. Jeanne Lenzer, The Danger Within Us
‘I felt it go into my tube … It was pretty intense. After the procedure I was running fevers a lot, the bleeding was almost continual … a sharp stabbing pain …’ ibid. essure device victim
‘The history of medical devices is odd: there was an explosion in the 1920s and 30s and 40s of fraudulent devices …’ ibid. William Hubbard, former FDA associate commissioner
‘Most people probably believe when they get a medical device they implant it, be it a pacemaker or a joint, that those medical devices have undergone appropriate testing to demonstrate that they are safe and effective before they came on the market and doctors started using them. But for more moderate and high risk devices that is not the case.’ ibid. Dr Michael Carome
There have been more than 800 failed pregnancies associated with Essure. ibid.
Medical companies paid doctors more than £2 billion in 2016. ibid.
‘Welcome to the business.’ ibid. sales rep
Women with Essure experienced sterilization failure seven times more often than women who had their tubes tied. ibid. Bouillon, Bertrand, Bader et al 2018
CT scan overdose and overuse gives 50,000 Americans every year. ibid. Korley, Pham et al 2009
We are living through a golden age of technology. Our homes and our pockets are full of inventions and gadgets that 20 years ago would have been the stuff of science fiction. Hannah Fry, The Secret Genius of Modern Life s1e1: Bank Card
The Bank Card: How an ancient piece of jewellery led to chip and pin. Why a man ironing in the 1960s revolutionised how data is stored on our cards. And why we have Russian spies to thank for contactless payments. ibid.
We are at the biggest hub for bank card transactions in Europe: the Visa data centre. ibid.
The bank card era is coming to an end. ibid.
Contactless was introduced in the UK in 2007. ibid.
The future of payments is biometric. ibid.
The food delivery app on your phone … Four crucial pieces of tech: from the mapping system to the delivery rider’s display. And it all starts with the first thing we see when we open up the app: the order screen. Hannah Fry, The Secret Genius of Modern Life s1e2: Food Delivery App
This is more sophisticated than I was expecting. ibid.
The mapping technology the drivers depend on … GPS. ibid.
The satellites are spread about the planet. ibid.
GPS: A little bit of everyday genius. ibid.