Inventions: Past and Present

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876. The first phone had a trumpet shaped part that was used to speak and to listen. These phones and the ones that followed after were large and not portable.

On the other hand many people carry small cell phones. They have no wires, unlike earlier phones. Cell phones let people talk all over the world.

In the United States, brothers Charles and Frank Duryea founded the Duryea Motor Wagon Company in 1893, becoming the first American automobile manufacturing company. However, it was Ransom E. Olds and his Olds Motor Vehicle Company (later known as Oldsmobile) who would dominate this era of automobile production. Throughout the veteran car era, however, the automobile was seen more as a novelty than as a genuinely useful device. Breakdowns were frequent, fuel was difficult to obtain, roads suitable for traveling were scarce, and rapid innovation meant that a year-old car was nearly worthless. (Source: www.wikipedia.org)

Compared with the cars of the past car propulsion technologies that are under development include gasoline/electric and plug-in hybrids, battery electric vehicles, hydrogen cars, biofuels, and various alternative fuels. Fully autonomous vehicles, also known as driverless cars, already exist in prototype (such as the Google driverless car), and are expected to be commercially available around 2020. (Source: www.wikipedia.org)

Television became popular in the 1950’s. The first TVs did not have a remote control. The screens showed pictures in black and white, and the sound was poor.

In comparison many modern TVs have flat screens. Some can be hung on a wall. Today’s televisions have very clear, colored pictures, and excellent sound.