The 1960s stand out in American history for their cultural explosion, but social leaders, musicians, and filmmakers weren’t the only ones driving change. The 1960s saw a man land on the Moon, the first successful heart transplant, and the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation, which provided the first direct evidence to support the Big Bang theory. Even plate tectonics was confirmed in the 1960s through new studies of the ocean floor.
But the decade also saw the massive expansion of technology and technological inventions. There is no shortage of visionary gadgets from the 1960s, and with NASA having gained a solid foundation, the decade saw several NASA inventions and everyday electronic devices that can still be found in homes today. It wasn’t just NASA, however, as government research partnered with corporate labs and university programs to create the kind of environment that helped move much of the technology out of the research and development phases and into the market.
In many ways, 1960s technology still seems ahead of its time, and that’s partly why 60s technology seems more futuristic than reality. But much of what has come to market has played a major role in shaping the world we live in today. There are several essential inventions that people didn’t know existed in the 1960s, including those we use every day for creativity, productivity, transportation, and even to power our homes with electricity.
Word processing
Over the years, everyday writing evolved from a process using a pen and pad to something that could be done with a typewriter. The typewriter eventually gave way to desktop computers, and soon enough we began writing on the go with laptops. Now, smartphones allow us to keep such capabilities in our pockets, with apps like Microsoft Word and Google Docs providing the necessary interface. But these are far from the first word processing programs, because the first word processor did not appear on a typical computing device at all.
In 1964, IBM introduced a machine that combined a typewriter and magnetic tape recording equipment. It was called MT/ST and is considered the first system ever released as a word processor. The MT/ST worked by recording each keystroke on a magnetic tape housed in a cartridge. The user could make revisions by playing the tape, stopping it at the edit point, and continuing to record after making the correction.
The MT/ST was a bulky device with major flaws by today’s standards. It had no screen and its price was high, and its limitations included magnetic tapes that could only store 10 pages of double-spaced text per cartridge. But IBM could see its potential at the time. She hired Jim Henson to make a short film about the MT/ST in 1967 and supported the product until 1983, when on-screen word processors began to dominate the market.
DRACHMA
Electronic devices like computers, smartphones, and game consoles all rely on memory that can store data and retrieve it as quickly as possible. This memory is known as DRAM or dynamic random access memory. This is what allows apps to work responsively and our devices to switch between tasks and apps without noticeable delay. DRAM stores the accompanying files and keeps them ready when users return to them.
DRAM has been the primary form of computer memory for decades, but it was first designed by an IBM engineer named Robert Dennard in 1966. Dennard recognized that a single transistor combined with a capacitor stored data much more efficiently than the magnetic-core memory cells that were common at the time. This sparked a complete reinvention of computer memory, and a patent for DRAM was issued to Dennard and IBM in 1968. Intel released the 1103, the first widely adopted DRAM chip, in 1970.
Some of the first computers to adopt 1103 for their main memory were the HP 9800 series and several Honeywell microcomputers. IBM incorporated its own DRAM into the System 370 Model 158 in 1972. DRAM would become less expensive as it continued to be adopted by computer manufacturers, allowing other electronics manufacturers to use it in their products. Today, it is found in devices such as digital cameras, GPS devices, routers, smart TVs, portable game consoles and even wearable technology.
The electric car
Electric vehicles have gone from being a market test to becoming a major part of the automotive industry, with almost every major manufacturer now having at least one electric vehicle in their lineup. Battery technology and charging infrastructure are more advanced than ever, and the range of electric vehicles continues to improve. Some of the most reliable electric vehicles of all time have hit the market in the last decade, but part of that is due to research and development going back a long way.
While the roots of electric vehicles date back to 1828, the 1960s saw what could be considered the invention of the modern electric vehicle. In 1964, General Motors built an electric version of the popular Chevrolet Corvair. Known as the Electrovair, GM followed with the Electrovair II in 1966. The automobile had reached the masses by then, and with almost every household owning one, people were increasingly aware of pollution. The Electrovair was a direct response to this situation.
Car makers like Ford also experimented with electric prototypes in the 1960s, with the Ford Comuta launched on the UK market in 1967. It was an experimental microcar that could travel up to 37 miles on a single charge and had a top speed of 25 mph. Today’s American-made electric vehicles still include models from manufacturers like Ford and GM. But even though there were real intentions to commercialize them on a large scale, the electric vehicles of the 1960s functioned more as prototypes for the electric vehicles we know today.
Solar panels
Solar panels are now used every day. The Energy Information Administration predicts that solar energy will be the fastest-growing source of electricity generation in the United States through 2027, and this is largely due to increases in home use. But long before solar panels became common in neighborhoods, they were used to power and charge smaller devices like digital watches, calculators, and even keyboards. All of these uses date back to the 1960s, notably to NASA, which used solar panels extensively.
In 1958, NASA first used solar cells to power its Vanguard 1 satellite, and the 1960s saw the agency implement them in a variety of ways. In 1966, Telstar, the world’s first communications satellite, was equipped with solar panels, as was the Nimbus 1 satellite in 1964. But while NASA was installing solar cells in space, the technology itself came from Bell Labs, which used solar panels in a more down-to-earth way. His interest in solar panels stemmed from a desire to power telephone equipment in remote locations where installing power lines was uneconomical.
NASA’s pioneering use of solar panels in the 1960s remained their primary function until the 1970s, when they began to be deployed in much smaller formats. The first solar-powered watch came to market in 1972, with a side-mounted display because the top provided more surface area for the solar panels. Sharp released the first mass-produced solar calculator in 1976, and throughout the 1980s, more and more small electronic devices used solar power.
The ATM
The world’s first ATM was opened in London in the summer of 1967. The invention is credited to a banking executive named John Shepherd-Barron, who came up with the idea after being unable to withdraw money while his bank was closed on a Saturday. He pitched the idea to Barclays, taking inspiration from chocolate vending machines. The first ATM took just a few months to design, build, and deploy to the public. The first American ATM became accessible in 1969 at a chemical bank on Long Island, New York.
The idea of a 24-hour bank quickly became a major operation. In 1973, IBM introduced the 3614, an ATM connected to a bank’s mainframe computer via telephone lines and allowing customers to check their account balances and make deposits in addition to withdrawals. As the vending machine network grew during the 1970s and 1980s, an entire supporting industry emerged, with armored vehicle manufacturers expanding their operations to keep the machines stocked with cash.
The drive-thru ATM appeared in the 1980s, but in the near future it may prove to be an example of how difficult it is for an invention to remain eternally essential. Short of dispensing cash, a smartphone and its accompanying banking app can do everything an ATM can. But the need to always have cash on hand has diminished significantly in recent decades with the rise of debit cards, electronic transactions and, of course, digital wallets and payment processes available today.
