15 Old Photos Where Technology Isn’t Used How You Might Think
Technology has always promised to make life easier. The definition of “easier” has changed quite a bit. Making a phone call once required a car full of equipment, listening to music at the beach meant carrying a radio that weighed several pounds, and taking a selfie could involve a mirror, a box camera, and a considerable amount of patience. Computers occupied entire rooms. Video cameras came with equipment hanging from your shoulder. Even watching television could become enough of an event to justify a family photo. Everyone here was probably using the latest technology perfectly well. From a modern perspective, though, some of these setups look wonderfully complicated. Here are 15 old photos where technology came with a serious learning curve.
The Selfie Required Some Furniture
An early-1900s woman uses a mirror and box camera for a self-portrait, back when the front-facing camera was whatever reflective surface happened to be nearby.
Television Was a Full-Body Experience
An eight-year-old seeing television in 1948 gets close enough to study the screen properly, with the new technology earning a genuinely dropped jaw.
The New TV Got Its Own Photo Shoot
A mother and daughter proudly pose beside their new television in the early 1970s, when bringing home a screen was apparently a Kodak moment.
Mobile Calling Needed an Entire Car
A man uses a car phone in 1959, when taking a call on the road required considerably more dashboard space than simply tossing a phone into a cup holder.
Michael J. Fox Apparently Needed Every Phone
A 1980s photo catches Michael J. Fox making a mobile call inside a car already equipped with multiple phones, because one telephone clearly was not enough technology.
Making a Call Required a Wall of Cables
Telephone operators in 1970s Japan work across enormous switchboards, manually connecting calls with rows of plugs that now look closer to mission control.
The Phone Network Needed Two People and Hundreds of Holes
Two switchboard operators in 1900 sit in front of a wall of connections, when getting someone on the line involved considerably more plugging things in.
The Beach Radio Came Along for the Day
Four women relax around a portable radio on the sand, back when bringing music to the beach meant carrying the whole radio with you.
The Playlist Had Its Own Handle
A young girl carries a portable radio along the beach, with her music packed into a separate little box instead of a phone.
Their Playlist Came With a Turntable
Teenagers in 1966 gather around a portable record player, with changing the song requiring a little more effort than tapping “skip”.
The Fax Machine Needed Its Own Floor Space
An early-1980s office fax machine stood on the floor like a piece of furniture and took roughly a minute to receive a single page.
The Computer Was the Room
A 1960s computer installation fills a large workspace with tape drives, consoles, and enough cabinets to make the machine feel like part of the building.
Cable Management Used to Be the Entire Job
An engineer works inside the wiring of an IBM computer in 1958, surrounded by carefully organized cables.
The Mouse Needed a Public Demonstration
Douglas Engelbart demonstrated the computer mouse in 1968 alongside other technologies now considered completely ordinary, including windows, hypertext, and collaborative editing.
“Portable” Video Came With 15 Pounds of Equipment
An old ad shows a woman carrying a video recorder over her shoulder, with the supposedly portable tape unit alone weighing around 15 pounds.