Search Results for: then and now

Betty White - we know her and love her. She's a comic dynamo who's been performing for over 70 years in a variety of roles. 70 years seems like a long time (probably because it is), but would you believe that inventions like the ballpoint pen or even sliced bread hadn't been invented until after she was born? Seriously! People were still slicing their own bread when America's sweetheart was growing up. There must have been crumbs everywhere. On this list, you'll find more items, inventions, and even concepts that were but a twinkle in the eye of their inventor when Betty White was born. This list of inventions that Betty White pre-dates is full of surprising facts and fun trivia that you can use to impress your friends. 1. Sliced Bread July 7, 1928 – Sliced Bread Commercially Sold For The First Time (FirstAndMonday) Although it seems like such a simple concept, sliced bread was not invented until 1928. Creator Otto Frederick Rohwedder actually had a prototype for his bread slicing machine as early as 1912, but it was unfortunately destroyed in a fire. 16 years later, the Chillicothe Baking Company sold the first loaf that utilized Rohwedder's slicing machine, called "Kleen Maid Sliced Bread". It just goes to show that Betty White isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread; sliced bread is the greatest thing since Betty White. 2. Penicillin Narberth Allergy & Asthma Penicillin was discovered in 1930, 8 years after a little baby Betty White was birthed fully formed from her father's skull, like Athena from Zeus (but much funnier). While Penicillin and Betty White still going strong, we're sure that the antibiotic craze is going to die out long before our love of Ms. White. 3. Scotch Tape gizmodo.com.au Initially, we were under the influence that Scotch Tape originated in Scotland some time in the 18th century, but boy were we wrong! Some egg head named Richard Drew actually invented the miracle adhesive in 1930, 8 years after Betty White was gifted to us from the heavens. 4. Color Television Pinterest In 1950, color television was slowly introduced to the world via CBS broadcast. Knowing, even then, that what the American public craved on its television screens was Betty White, the first color visual that shown to television viewers was Ms. White's winning smile. For those viewers unfortunate enough to have color television, they were shown a black and white slide show of a burning oatmeal factory. 5. The Slinky Photo: JonathanCohen/flickr/CC-BY-NC 2.0 What were slinkys? Were they toys meant to be enjoyed by all ages, or apparatuses created to tangle and torture men and women, young and old? In 1947 (four years after the invention of the slinky) Betty White launched a congressional hearing to answer that very question. Unfortunately, her report was inconclusive. Source: US Patent Office. 6. Bubble Gum Bibelot Magazine In 1928, Walter E. Diemer, an accountant for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company in Philadelphia, was experimenting with new gum recipes. After consulting with the then 6-year-old Betty White, he created what we now call "bubble gum." Although at the time it was known as "Fleer's Pink Flavored Bubble Making Gum." Source: TLC 7. Canned Beer Wikipedia The first canned beer appeared on the market some time in the mid-30s, well after Betty White's birth in 1922. But by the mid-50s, canned beverages were the thing to be seen drinking out of. At the canned beverage symposium of 1961, BIG CAN even went as far as to hire Betty White to pop out of a novelty can in order to further burgeoning interest. 8. Ballpoint Pens Wall Street Journal László Bíró may think he gained the upper hand on Betty White by filing a patent for the ballpoint pen in 1941, she was but a young woman at the time. But the scoreboard of history has shown us that no one remembers what ballpoint pens once did, were they used to sew? Did ancient humans keep small animals in the ballpoint pens? The answer is lost to history. 9. LSD Metro LSD was first synthesized on November 16, 1938, by Albert Hoffman, pretty Groooooovy maaaaan. In his autobiography "Keep On Truckin'," Hoffman describes his first "trip" as being a kaleidoscopic rainbow of the face of Betty White. 10. Helicopters Pinterest The earliest references to vertical flight have existed since 400 BC when Chinese children began playing with bamboo flying sticks, but it wasn't until 1924 that the first world helicopter record was set for inventing the most helicopters in under 24 hours. Who set that record? That's right, a two-year-old Betty White. 11. Barbie The original 1959 Teenage Fashion Model Barbie. (Credit: Mattel) In 1959, Mattel unveiled the very first fashion doll, Barbie. Barbie was one of the first toys to have a marketing strategy based extensively on television advertising, which has been copied widely by other toys. It is estimated that over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide in over 150 countries, with Mattel claiming that three Barbie dolls are sold every second. The most popular Barbie by far has been the "Golden Girl Betty White" model - Miami Retirement Home play set not included. 12. Ritz Crackers Pinterest Try as they might, Nabisco rushed to introduce the Ritz Cracker to a snack hungry world before the 1922 birth of Betty White. It was prophesied that which every snack company released a buttery cracker before the 95-year-old national treasure's birth would reign supreme over all other snack companies. Better luck next time Nabisco. Source: Wikipedia 13. Computers Over the Air (Diply) ENIAC was the first electronic general-purpose computer that was financed by the United States Army, Ordnance Corps, Research, and Development Command which was led by Major General Gladeon Marcus Barnes. Initially developed to calculate artillery firing tables, the supercomputer was used to write rudimentary fan fiction the developing Betty White until it was put on display at The Smithsonian. 14. Facial Tissues Wikipedia Betty was just two years old when facial tissues (AKA Kleenex) were thought up in 1924. They were originally marketed as a way to remove cold cream or makeup, not as a rag for runny noses. Source: WIBC, 15. Mount Rushmore National Park Foundation Work on Mount Rushmore started in 1927. By the time construction ended in October 1941, Betty had already appeared on an experimental TV station in L.A. and landed her first professional acting job. Source: WIBC, (Source: Ranker) These tributes to Betty are amazing... https://twitter.com/BettyMWhite/status/949295492424286208 https://twitter.com/TheEllenShow/status/953775918547267584 https://twitter.com/OriginalFunko/status/953742483346919427 https://twitter.com/deadpoolmovie/status/953709773253423104 https://twitter.com/michaelmalice/status/953807689796202496 https://twitter.com/TheRickyDavila/status/953749330623631360 https://twitter.com/kingsthings/status/953777540186779648 https://twitter.com/OleMissVideo/status/953748463463825409 https://twitter.com/ElloSteph/status/953732417142931456 https://twitter.com/EmilyOsment/status/953765377674113024 https://twitter.com/MaxizPad/status/953760794239471618 https://twitter.com/mariashriver/status/953730890269536256 https://twitter.com/deefizzy/status/953792424026898432