15 Iconic 1950s Inventions That Changed the World ...Saudi Arabia

Many of the daily items we use today are the result of decades of research, perseverance and good 'ole trial and error. For ages, inventors have sought to improve our society by creating everything from simple items to complex technologies that make a huge impact on our lives. Throughout the 20th century, each decade had its own unique set of inventions that left their mark on history. Curious about some of the best 1950s inventions? We consulted a few experts who know a thing or two about innovation.Parade spoke with Robert D. Friedel, a Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Maryland, who specializes in technology, science and the environment. He has written several monographs on the history of technology and the nature of invention. Prior to joining the University of Maryland, Friedel was a historian at the Smithsonian Institution and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.We also consulted the pros at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), who scoured their archives to share insight into some of the best inventions of the decade.Below, you'll find just 15 of the many inventions from the 1950s that brilliant minds contributed to society during that decade.Related: 7 Best ’50s Fashion Looks, According to Celebrity Stylists

Similar to other decades throughout the 20th century, a variety of inventions came out of the 1950s. However, it's important to note that a lot of inventions are created after decades of research."Not surprisingly, important modern inventions are generally complicated and have complex origins, and these do not always fit neatly within decades," Friedel notes.A spokesperson for USPTO tells Parade that the 1950s were "characterized by a post-World War II economic and demographic boom." This resulted in an "increase in consumer products available to an expanding middle class, the growth of the American suburbs and mass media consumption.""Both people and products were on the move in an increasingly globalized world," the agency says. "Television entered a 'golden age,' Rock and Roll emerged as a popular genre of music and the post-war baby boom fed demand for convenience items catered towards families. Economic prosperity, Cold War tensions and the beginnings of the space race all contributed to an increase in technological and scientific advancement."Related: 7 Classic Cosmetics That Have Stood the Test of Time

15 Iconic 1950s Inventions, According to Experts

1. Integrated circuit

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Friedel calls the integrated circuit the "single most significant invention of the decade."Per the professor, all of our microelectronics (everything from laptops and phones to TVs and server farms) "start with the integrated circuit."According to technology company Lenovo, an integrated circuit is a "small electronic device that combines multiple electronic components, such as transistors, resistors and capacitors, onto a single semiconductor chip.""It serves as the building block of modern electronic systems, providing functionality and processing power in a compact and efficient package," the Lenovo website reads.

2. Polypropylene

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"Another technological area that exploded in importance in the 1950s, in substance as well as in symbol, is represented by modern plastics," Friedel says.Although many of the "key plastics" came about before the decade, one form of plastic came about during the 1950s."Polypropylene, the second most significant plastic family in volume, appeared in that decade and can stand in for the larger plasticization of American life that became evident at that time," the historian tells Parade.Per the American Chemical Society, polypropylene is used in a variety of products, including cars (bumpers, fender liners, etc.), school supplies (binders, writing instruments etc.), household items (food packaging, appliance housings etc.), medical supplies (syringes, packaging, etc.) and more.

3. Salk vaccine

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The 1950s were full of several medical inventions that ushered in a "remarkable transformation of modern medicine into a highly technological field," Friedel shares.For instance, U.S. physician Jonas Salk stepped up to the plate to battle against rising cases of polio."The development of the Salk vaccine in response to a terrible worldwide polio epidemic showed the capabilities of modern medicine to devise radically new tools for fighting disease," the historian explains.Per the World Health Organization (WHO), Salk tested the vaccine on himself and his family in 1953, then used it on 1.6 million children in the U.S., Canada and Finland a year later."By 1957, annual cases dropped from 58,000 to 5600, and by 1961, only 161 cases remained," the organization's website reads.Salk could have become rich off of his invention, but he "did not profit from sharing the formulation or production processes," per WHO.

4. Fortran

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"The first electronic digital computers appeared in the 1940s, but the first generally usable computer language, Fortran, was a product of the 1950s, and it is still at the foundation of much computing work, even many generations removed," Friedel shares with Parade.Per IBM, Fortran was the world's "first programming language standard.""It helped open the door to modern computing and ranks as one of the most influential software products in history," the IBM website reads. "Fortran liberated computers from the exclusive realm of programmers and opened them to nearly everybody else."Per the IBM website, Fortran inventor John Backus once said much of his work came "from being lazy.""I didn’t like writing programs, so I started work on a system to make them easier to write," he said.

5. Pocket radio

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Before we get into this next invention, it's important to understand the role silicon transistors played in its invention."The first transistors, as they emerged in the late 1940s, used pretty exotic and hard-to-work-with materials, such as gallium arsenide or germanium. Silicon changed the whole ballgame," Friedel says.The professor notes that the silicon transistor contributed to the creation of the integrated circuit and another fun invention."Another offshoot of the silicon transistor was the first family of reliable portable electronic devices, of which the key example is the Regency pocket radio," he says.Once it was available in 1954, the pocket radio made it easier to listen to AM radio stations on a portable device. Per the National Museum of American History, the radio contained four transistors.

6. Maser

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Before lasers were invented, the maser laid the groundwork for future progress."While the first operating laser did not appear until 1960, it was preceded in the 1950s by a microwave version, the Maser, that ushered in the whole technology of what came to be known as quantum electronics," Friedel states.Per Britannica, a maser is a "device that produces and amplifies electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range of the spectrum." The name is an acronym for "microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation."American physicist Charles H. Townes developed the first maser."The wavelength produced by a maser is so constant and reproducible that it can be used to control a clock that will gain or lose no more than a second over hundreds of years. Masers have been used to amplify faint signals returned from radar and communications satellites, and have made it possible to measure faint radio waves emitted by Venus, giving an indication of the planet’s temperature," the Britannica website reads.

7. Implantable cardiac pacemaker

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As silicon transistors gradually became more reliable, the improved technology led to a "sometimes overlooked" development in the medical field, per Friedel."The implantable cardiac pacemaker made its first appearance before the decade’s end," he says.Per the National Library of Medicine, the first pacemaker implantation was performed in Sweden in 1958."The patient suffered from Stokes-Adams attacks that required resuscitation many times daily, and whose situation was considered hopeless. The implantation was a more or less desperate rescue measure. The risks taken with this completely unknown therapy were immense," the website reads.Related: 17 VHS Tapes Worth a Lot of Money, According to Collectors

8. NTSC standard

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We all take color TV for granted these days, but there was a time when black-and-white TV was the only option."The first color televisions appeared in the 1940s, but it was not until the emergence of a widely usable color standard—known as the NTSC standard—in the 1950s that it was possible for color to become the norm," Friedel says.Per Sony, the NTSC standard stands for "National Television Standards Committee," aka the group that "originally developed the black & white and subsequently color television system that is used in the United States, Japan and many other countries."NTSC pictures are "made up of 525 interlaced lines" and "displayed at a rate of 29.97 frames per second."

9. Glucose detection for diabetes

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"As a student at Wooster College when the U.S. entered World War II, Helen Free switched her major to chemistry when women were encouraged to take the place of men in scientific fields of study. Her work revolutionized self-testing systems for diabetes," a USPTO spokesperson says. Per the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Free conducted "lifesaving research in medical and clinical urinary testing" that resulted in the development of "convenient dip-and-read urine tests, including Clinistix, which aids diabetes monitoring by detecting glucose."After seeing the success of Clinistix, Free and her husband created other urine tests to "accurately monitor pH levels, nitrates, ketones and bilirubin."

Per Smithsonian Magazine, Bessie Blount created an automatic feeding device that delivered a mouthful of food via a spoon-shaped tube when you bit down on a switch."As a nurse and physical therapist, many of Bessie Blount’s patients were World War II veterans recovering from amputations. This assistive device helped amputees eat independently," a USPTO spokesperson tells Parade."The inspiration for a feeding device came when a physician at the Bronx Hospital told her that the army had been trying to produce a viable self-feeding device but had been unsuccessful. If she really wanted to help disabled veterans, the doctor said, she should figure out a way to help them feed themselves. Spurred on, Blount worked for five years to create a device that would do just that," the magazine's website reads.

11. Barcodes

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Per the USPTO, Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver obtained a patent in 1952 for something we all encounter whenever we're shopping today: barcodes. "With an increase in consumer goods available on store shelves, a convenient and consistent bar code system helped the checkout line run much more smoothly," the agency notes.  The patent application shares details for the original invention."This invention relates to the art of article classification and has particular relation to classification through the medium of identifying patterns. It is an object of the invention to provide automatic apparatus for classifying things according to photo-response to lines and/or colors which constitute classification instructions and which have been attached to, imprinted upon or caused to represent the things being classified," it reads.

12. Fender Stratocaster electric guitar 

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Rock and roll played a major cultural influence in the 1950s and is still a popular musical genre today."With Rock and Roll emerging as a popular musical genre in the 1950s, Fender released its iconic Stratocaster electric guitar in 1954," a USPTO spokesperson says.  Per Fender, "the guitar was so well designed from the start that it has basically remained the same for six decades."It took several years for the new instrument to catch on. But by 1957, it was "perfected into the form that has remained largely unchanged ever since."

13. Liquid paper 

Fuse

"In her work as a secretary, single mother Bette Nesmith Graham struggled to adjust to the use of typewriters in her office. With her trade secret correction fluid called Liquid Paper, she transformed the office supply industry," a USPTO spokesperson tells Parade.  Better known as white-out today, the product has made life easier for millions of people since its invention. Per a USPTO spotlight on liquid paper, Graham initially purchased a small jar of white, water-based tempura paint to cover up her typos with a watercolor brush. Soon enough, her coworkers wanted in on the action.“'Everybody was enthusiastic about it,' she recalled in a company newsletter. 'But I was still thinking about it mostly for my own use until an office supply dealer asked me one day: ‘why don’t you market that?’" the post reads.Graham worked with her son's chemistry teacher and an industrial polymer chemist to create a formula for a product that would be called "Mistake Out" at first. She later renamed her business Liquid Paper Corporation and received a trademark.

14.  Shipping containers

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In 1954, Malcolm P. McLean submitted a patent application for an apparatus for shipping freight. Per the USPTO, his invention "revolutionized global trade logistics and dramatically lowered shipping costs worldwide."According to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, McLean is specifically credited with inventing containerized shipping."McLean designed containers that could be separated from the truck bed and wheels, were made of heavy steel to protect their contents, and could be neatly stacked. He acquired a fleet of old tankers and converted them to container ships. McLean's container system dramatically reduced time and labor costs, as well as pilfering and damage to cargo—which had the added benefit of lowering insurance rates," the website reads.

15. Zamboni 

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If you've ever played hockey or gone ice skating, you know how much of a difference it makes when a Zamboni machine passes by. As it turns out, a man named Frank Zamboni is responsible for dreaming up this useful machine."When Frank Zamboni’s original business of cutting ice declined due to the popularity of refrigeration, he pivoted to opening an ice rink. His machine to refinish ice to a smooth, unblemished surface is known popularly as the Zamboni," a USPTO spokesperson tells Parade.Up Next:

Related: 25 Popular Toys Every Kid Wanted in the 1950s

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