15 Technological Wonders That Have Been Around Much Longer Than You Realize

In today’s fast-paced world, we are surrounded by a wealth of technological advancements. Gadgets like robot vacuums, video phones, and 3D printers, once imagined in science fiction just a couple of decades ago, are now a reality in many developed nations.

While modern technology might seem like a recent development, many of our current favorite devices and tools have actually been around much longer than we might expect. Despite appearing to be ultra-modern, a closer look at history reveals that much of today’s technology was envisioned many years ago.

15. Calculators

While most people are aware that calculators have been around for a long time, few realize just how ancient they really are. In the mid-17th century, long before pocket watches and any knowledge of bacteria, Blaise Pascal was creating an ingenious method to make math easier. Having already contributed to a pivotal study on projective geometry before his 16th birthday, Pascal, one day, while observing his father, a tax collector, struggle with numerous figures, conceived the idea of building a machine that could perform mathematical calculations on its own.

After some trial and error, Pascal succeeded in building the world's first mechanical calculator, which would eventually be called the Pascaline. The Pascaline resembled a jewelry box, with dials on its lid. By turning the dials to enter the numbers, the internal mechanism would adjust and twist in such a way that the correct answer would appear in the small answer window on the lid.

Though the machine was originally designed only to perform addition, it could also subtract by reversing the process, multiply by repeating additions, and divide by repeating subtractions.

14. Fax Machines

Though fax machines seemed to fall out of favor with the rise of email, they were all the rage in the '70s and '80s because they allowed us to skip the postal service and send documents almost instantly across the globe. However, the concept of machines transmitting documents via phone lines dates back to 1843, well before the telephone was even invented.

The first rudimentary fax machines, created by Scottish inventor Alexander Bain, used components from Bain's own invention of the digital clock to make a scanner that was connected to a telegraph system for transmitting images. While it took about 30 minutes to send one image, this was incredibly fast compared to the alternative methods of sending by horse or train.

13. Mobile Phones

When most people think of early mobile phones, they probably envision Zack Morris using the bulky phone at Bayside High. Although cell phones like that became available to the public in the early '80s, the very first true mobile phone was actually developed in 1918.

Mobile phones combine two related technologies: telephony and radiotelegraphy. In 1918, German engineers successfully merged telephones and radios, installing a wireless phone system on a military train running between Berlin and the nearby town of Zossen. Because the system could function while the train was in motion, it became the world's first true mobile phone.

12. Social Media

Back in the 1970s, a group of friends at Berkeley set out to create a digital system that would function as a public bulletin board. Using a mainframe computer connected to others throughout the community, they created what they called an 'information flea market.'

Though the network was slow by today's standards, it allowed people to read and share information in much the same way we use social media now. It even had features like keyword tagging so people could search for specifics, such as finding the best disco club or keeping up with the latest episode of Charlie’s Angels. However, while modern social media allows endless free posting, the information flea market charged 25 cents for a single post—though at least you didn’t have to wade through endless posts about what people were eating for lunch.

11. Plastic Surgery

As far back as 600 B.C., ancient Indian surgeons had a method for reconstructing ears or noses. They would cut skin from the cheek or forehead and stitch it over the damaged areas. This technique, known as forehead flap rhinoplasty, was kept secret for centuries and was primarily used to reconstruct features lost in battle or as a form of punishment. Today, this method has evolved and is a key procedure in modern plastic surgery.

10. Bras

Mary Phelps Jacob is widely recognized for patenting the first modern bra in 1914, offering a more practical alternative to the bulky corset that was the standard form of support at the time. However, recent findings by archaeologists have revealed that versions of the bra existed long before Jacob's design. In 2012, researchers uncovered a collection of ancient garments in Castle Lengberg, Austria, which included medieval bras that featured cups and were arguably more advanced than Jacob’s 1914 model.

9. Contact Lenses

Since receiving FDA approval in 1971, contact lenses have helped many avoid the need for glasses. However, the concept of corrective lenses that rest directly on the eye was actually conceived nearly a century earlier.

In 1888, German inventor Adolf Fick pioneered the field of ophthalmology with his creation of the first contact lenses. Though these lenses aimed to improve vision without glasses, they were far from the comfortable, modern lenses we use today. Made from heavy blown glass, they covered the entire eye and could only be worn for a few hours at a time due to the extreme discomfort they caused. Despite their functionality, Fick’s lenses were highly impractical because of the pain they induced.

8. Video Games

While many credit the birth of video games to the launch of Pong in 1972, the first digital games were actually created much earlier, in 1958, by Dr. William Higinbotham. Working at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, Higinbotham was developing missile trajectory simulations when he realized that the technology could be repurposed for entertainment. This led to his creation of a game called Tennis for Two, which used a simple simulation to bounce a point of light, representing a virtual ball, over a net. However, Tennis for Two was never released to the public, as its design was too similar to a previous project Higinbotham had worked on in a federally owned lab, meaning the U.S. government would have claimed ownership of it if made public.

Before Tennis for Two, there was the Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device, patented in 1948. This bulky CRT computer, mounted in a closet, allowed players to control the speed and trajectory of an artillery shell aimed at a target on the screen. When the player successfully hit the target, the shell would blur to simulate an explosion. In a way, it was the 1940s precursor to modern-day shooters like Call of Duty.

7. Vending Machines

The first coin-operated vending machines appeared in London in the early 1800s, dispensing postcards and books for the public's convenience. These machines later made their way to America, where the Thomas Adams Gum Company began filling them with gum and snacks—products we typically associate with vending machines today. However, the original vending machines had a much different purpose. In ancient Egypt, religious vending machines were used in temples to dispense holy water to the faithful.

Just like today's vending machines, ancient religious devices functioned by accepting coins placed in the top and dispensing a measured amount of holy water for purification. Once the day ended, the coins would be collected, and fresh holy water was added for the next round. Over the centuries, the vending machine concept hasn't changed much, except for the fact that modern machines now accept credit cards and offer a wide range of products, from luxury electronics and cars to the unexpected, like used undergarments or drug paraphernalia.

6. Vaping

In today's world, it seems like everywhere you turn, people are vaping and preaching about how it's a healthier alternative to traditional smoking. While the modern vaping trend is relatively new, it turns out that inhaling vapor has been 'cool' for centuries. The ancient Scythians, as described in the book The History of Herodotus from 500 B.C., would vaporize hemp seeds on hot stones for inhalation. Although this early form of vaping wouldn't be recognized by today's vape enthusiasts, the first true vaporizer resembling today's devices emerged in the 1500s—what they called a hookah.

5. 3D Movies

Ever since James Cameron's Avatar hit theaters in 2009, 3D movies have become a staple in the film industry, despite many viewers voicing their disdain for the added stereoscopic effects and the corresponding price hikes. However, the concept of 3D films dates back much further. The 1950s are often called the 'golden age' of 3D, a period when audiences, eager for new technology, embraced the format—especially in the horror genre—making 3D a popular feature in post-war cinema.

To truly trace the origins of 3D movies, one must go back to 1922 and the release of the film The Power of Love. This pioneering movie was the first to utilize anaglyph glasses, paired with the iconic red/cyan color scheme. While the original film print has aged significantly, making it almost impossible to view clearly, reports suggest that the 3D experience likely resembled what we see in theaters today.

4. 3D Printing

In recent years, 3D printing has emerged as a transformative technology across various sectors, from healthcare to space exploration. Despite its wide-reaching impact, many are unaware that 3D printing actually has a decades-long history. The first successful 3D printer prototype was created in 1981 by a research institute in Japan, utilizing photopolymers to produce solid models built in cross-sectional layers.

The reason 3D printers didn't become widely accessible until 2009 lies in the fact that, up until that point, the most affordable models were based on a patented process developed by a Minnesota-based company, Stratasys. As Stratasys exclusively sold their technology to professionals, 3D printers were only available to a select group of industry leaders. However, with the expiration of Stratasys' patent, affordable 3D printers have become available to the general public, paving the way for innovative new uses.

3. Electric Cars

Although electric cars like the Nissan LEAF, Chevy Volt, and Tesla Model S are often considered modern innovations, having only appeared on the market in the past five or six years, the reality is that electric vehicles have a much longer history, stretching back almost 200 years.

During the early 1800s, inventors across the globe were designing various prototypes of electric vehicles. In the United States, one of the first to be introduced was a six-passenger electric car in 1890, capable of reaching speeds around 14 miles per hour. Over the following decade, electric cars outsold their gasoline-powered counterparts by a 10-to-1 margin, praised for their ease of use due to the lack of gear shifting or hand crank engines. However, as the U.S. infrastructure expanded, more people desired to drive long distances, a feat that could only be achieved with gasoline-powered cars. With the discovery of Texas crude oil, gasoline became cheap and abundant, giving cars like Henry Ford's Model T an edge in popularity among consumers.

2. Batteries

While many people attribute the invention of the battery to Italian scientist Alessandro Volta, a discovery in 1938 revealed that the origins of the battery date back much further—over 2,000 years earlier, in fact.

In 1931, Wilhelm Konig became the head of the laboratory at the Baghdad Antiquity Administration. Seven years later, while examining curious clay jars in the National Museum of Iraq, he made an intriguing find. These jars, later known as Baghdad Batteries, contained an asphalt stopper with an iron rod protruding through it, encased in a copper cylinder. Further investigation showed traces of an acidic substance resembling vinegar, and when replicas of the jars were filled with a similar liquid, they were able to produce a current ranging from 0.8 to 2 volts. Konig was left to wonder about the purpose of such a device in 200 B.C.

While some scientists have proposed that the Baghdad Batteries might have been used for pain relief, this assumption seems less likely given that electrical stimulation would have been far less effective in alleviating pain compared to more potent painkillers like heroin, which was also available during that era. A more reasonable explanation is that they were likely used for a technique of electrically applying silver to gold, a method still practiced in Iraq today.

1. Computers

It's hard to think of modern society without computers—those programmable gadgets that help us work more efficiently, stay in touch with others, and provide us with an endless stream of entertainment options.

If we define a computer as a programmable device, rather than something like an abacus that simply aids in calculations, then the history of computers stretches back long before the 1930s' electromechanical innovations, all the way to around 150 B.C. This is when the ancient Greeks are believed to have used the Antikythera mechanism to calculate various astronomical positions.

The Antikythera mechanism, an early analog computer, was discovered in 1901 in a wreck off the coast of the Greek island Antikythera. Its intricate design, containing at least 30 independent gears, was unmatched by any other known artifacts from that period. These gears corresponded to the days and months of the Egyptian calendar, overlaid with the Greek zodiac, the sun, and the known planets. By turning a hand crank, ancient astronomers could predict how the planets would align across the zodiac on any given day—past, present, or future.