[..Michelle..]

FACT OF THE DAY:

WHO INVENTED THE REMOTE CONTROL?

According to the Great Idea Finder, the remote control was invented in the 1950s at Zenith Corporation. The first iteration, dubbed "Lazy Bones," used a cable that ran from the television set to the controller. In 1955, Eugene Polley, another Zenith employee, came up with the Flashmatic, the industry's first wireless remote. While it worked reasonably well, it did have limitations that kept it from being practical enough for everyday use.

The next year, Dr. Robert Adler unveiled the Space Command remote control. Instead of the photo cells used in the Flashmatic, the Space Command used ultrasound. This added 30% to the price of the TV, but it was considered a success and later adopted by other manufacturers."

Today, most remote controls are infrared, and according to Zenith, "more than 99 percent of all TV sets...are equipped with remote control." To that we say, "Hallelujah!"

THIS HAS BEEN YOUR RANDOM USELESS FACT OF THE DAY! ENJOY IT AS YOU WISH!

[..Jessica..]

Lazy bones! YUP!!!!!

[KDD]

First remote - 1950
First fight for control - 1950 + 1 day!

[PixieQueen]

I love random facts! They are so much fun! And we talk about actually changing the channel by hand in "the old days". Probably was the size of 2x4, though!

[jenn27]

I can't imagine not having a remote control. I am to lazy to get up and switch channels these days. Thanks for the random fact. That's pretty interesting.