16 photos showing the first appearance of some epochal innovations
Have you ever wondered when and how did the mobile phone first appear, which we now use at any and all times of the day?
And when was the first time a woman wore the famous and controversial bikini?
To these and other questions, we try to give an answer in the following photo gallery, which contains 16 inventions, epochal discoveries or accessories immortalized in the moment of their very first appearance in human society.
1. The first artificial heart
The AbioMed company created the first artificial heart in history in the 1950s, testing it on 15 patients.
2. The launch of Sputnik 1
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, in orbit on October 2, 1957.
3. The first neon sign in Las Vegas
The first neon sign in the city of Las Vegas, now known as the "City of Lights", appeared in 1941.
4. One of the first selfies in history
Robert Cornelius, a chemist from Philadelphia, took this photo of himself in 1839 and it is known to the first (or one of the first) selfies in history!
5. The first electric motor car in history
The Tesla Roadster was produced in 2008 by the Elon Musk company.
6. The first "barrel" descent at the Niagra Falls
In 1901, the adventurer Annie Edison Taylor launched herself from the Niagara Falls closed in a barrel! Her daredevil gesture gave life to a tradition still in vogue.
7. The first McDonald's restaurant
The first restaurant in the McDonald's chain was born in San Bernardino, California, in 1948. After its success, it was later transformed into the famous McDonald's fast-food chain.
8. The first bikini swimsuit
In 1946, the bikini appeared for the first time, worn by the exotic dancer Micheline Bernardini and designed by the French designer Louis Reard. Its name originates from one of the islets called Bikini Atoll, that make up the Marshall Islands.
9. The first Apple computer
The first Apple computer was created by Steve Wozniak and was presented to the world by Steve Jobs in 1976.
10. The first man to set foot on the Moon
Neil Armstrong set foot on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969.
11. The first photo of a lightning bolt
It was taken by the American photographer William Nicholson Jennings in 1882.
12. The first color photo
The physicist and mathematician James Clerk Maxwell obtained this image while studying light frequencies (1861).
13. The first car
Henry Ford made the Ford Quadricycle in 1896. It ran on diesel fuel and gave rise to the revolutionary concept of engine displacement.
14. The first cell phone
Martin Cooper, an American entrepreneur, called a rival company, in 1973, using the first mobile phone in history. It weighed 2.2 lb (1 kg) and had a half-hour of battery life.
15. The first robot in history
Cygan, the first robot in history, was created in 1957 to help with domestic chores.
16. The first painting by Van Gogh
It dates back to 1888 and depicts the Caffè di Place du Forum (Arles, France) with a starry sky in the background.
