TECHNOLOGY

Six inventions arrived too soon that did not achieve the expected success

History is full of inventions that have revolutionized our lives, as well as inventions that have not been successful, or that have had long after their presentation. Some inventors are visionaries, able to see things and imagine a lifestyle that normal people are not able to define. This happens sometimes because of details related to the product, which limit its diffusion, other times because people are not ready for such a change.

In this photo gallery we have collected some inventions that arrived too soon and were misunderstood, not enjoying the expected success.

Canale Youtube: Aterix
The first talking doll
The first talking doll was designed and built by Thomas A. Edison, back in 1877. This wooden and metal toy contained a phonograph, an instrument that allowed you to reproduce and even record sounds. Thanks to this technology the doll could "speak", that is, emit a recorded sound. The cost of the toy was very high and of the approximately 500 copies sold several were returned to its creator due to malfunctions.
Getty Images
The microwave today is in all homes
The microwave oven was not particularly successful when it was launched on the market in the mid-1900s. There are three main reasons for this. The cost, very high and inaccessible to the majority of people (over 2000 euros today). The weight (over 300 kg) and the height of the product, definitely too bulky. Finally, a discourse related to health: for over 30 years people did not trust and feared being hit by radiation, which led to associate the microwave oven with a harmful and dangerous cuisine. Around 1970 the first small specimens were made and the product began to spread.
Wikimedia Commons (Wikipedia)
The first washing machine.... by hand
The first "washing machine" was invented in 1874 by William Blackstone. The ancestor of what we know today as a washing machine was actually a simple wooden barrel filled with hot water and soap, which had a wooden board that was used to shake the clothes to be washed, strictly by hand. This invention never had the desired success and we will return to talk about washing machines only with the invention of electric ones.
Porsche
Porsche, the first hybrid car
The first electric and gasoline hybrid car was the Lohner-Porsche Hybrid, presented at the 1900 Paris World's Fair. This car was capable of reaching 35 kilometers per hour and could travel almost 200 kilometers on a single charge/single full charge. At the time, however, attention to the environment was not so widespread and this vehicle never achieved success.
Getty
Videophone was born for telephone booths
The Picturephone was one of the first videophones and was developed by Western Electric. This videophone had black and white images and was first used in 1964, in a public video call between two amusement parks located in New York and California. At first, video telephones were well received and installed in many telephone booths in New York, Washington and Chicago. The success, however, did not arrive, mainly because of the reservation necessary for their use and also because of the cost, decidedly excessive.
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