Richard Overton has the incredible distinction of being the oldest war veteran still alive. Currently 107 years of age, he lives in East Austin, Texas, and in 2013 visited the capital of the United States, Washington, D. C., for the very first time. As homage to the extraordinary life of Overton, here are four of the most influential inventions during his mammoth lifetime.
During Overton's life, the dietary consumption of the typical US citizen has undergone a huge adjustment. Television is massive and, as part of the adjustment to this, mealtimes changed. The TV dinner, so-called because that's what it was created for, to watch in from the the tube, became a huge part of American life.
They were inspired by the meals on airplanes, meals that could be stored in the freezer over a long period of time and taken out at the user's convenience. They were processed in factories, hit the market in the 1940s and were largely available at the local grocery store. Yet although they made viewing the television convenient, they were not greatly popular until the 1950s, when sales rocketed. Though some argue they made the focus of mealtimes more about watching TV than about socializing, recent estimates have their sales each year at around $4billion-$5billion.
The cell phone is a modern creation that has changed millions of lives around the globe. When it was made, like other inventions before it, it didn't really catch the imagination of the public. The DynaTAC from Motorola was huge and had to be stored in a briefcase when not in use.
These days a mobile is much lighter, usually weighing around 5 ounces and can fit in the anyone's pocket. And these days they are cheaper too, as in 1983 one of these would have set someone back around $4,000. As the devices are ever-changing, it seems the only certainty is that in 30 years time they will not be the same as they are now.
Food has played a major role in our evolution and the way we store food has been transformed during Overton's lifetime.Even though refrigeration has been around in one form or another over the past couple of centuries, the ability to store items at home had been impaired before the advent of home refrigeration. In the 1920s that changed and people now can take for granted the ability to store fresh food for several days rather than hours.
No list of influential things would be complete without an honorable mention to the Internet. Communication has been transformed and the world has seemingly become a very small place. The way in which business is conducted has changed and so has the way we get our information. It is considered by some to be the greatest change to our society of all time.
It seems that Richard Overton has been alive for some of the most important and powerful changes in our society's history. Life is arguably much faster than at any time in history, and yet Overton credits his long life to remaining free from stress and trying to be as active as possible.
During Overton's life, the dietary consumption of the typical US citizen has undergone a huge adjustment. Television is massive and, as part of the adjustment to this, mealtimes changed. The TV dinner, so-called because that's what it was created for, to watch in from the the tube, became a huge part of American life.
They were inspired by the meals on airplanes, meals that could be stored in the freezer over a long period of time and taken out at the user's convenience. They were processed in factories, hit the market in the 1940s and were largely available at the local grocery store. Yet although they made viewing the television convenient, they were not greatly popular until the 1950s, when sales rocketed. Though some argue they made the focus of mealtimes more about watching TV than about socializing, recent estimates have their sales each year at around $4billion-$5billion.
The cell phone is a modern creation that has changed millions of lives around the globe. When it was made, like other inventions before it, it didn't really catch the imagination of the public. The DynaTAC from Motorola was huge and had to be stored in a briefcase when not in use.
These days a mobile is much lighter, usually weighing around 5 ounces and can fit in the anyone's pocket. And these days they are cheaper too, as in 1983 one of these would have set someone back around $4,000. As the devices are ever-changing, it seems the only certainty is that in 30 years time they will not be the same as they are now.
Food has played a major role in our evolution and the way we store food has been transformed during Overton's lifetime.Even though refrigeration has been around in one form or another over the past couple of centuries, the ability to store items at home had been impaired before the advent of home refrigeration. In the 1920s that changed and people now can take for granted the ability to store fresh food for several days rather than hours.
No list of influential things would be complete without an honorable mention to the Internet. Communication has been transformed and the world has seemingly become a very small place. The way in which business is conducted has changed and so has the way we get our information. It is considered by some to be the greatest change to our society of all time.
It seems that Richard Overton has been alive for some of the most important and powerful changes in our society's history. Life is arguably much faster than at any time in history, and yet Overton credits his long life to remaining free from stress and trying to be as active as possible.
About the Author:
Watch the videos of the comedian Richard Overton at his official website www.rickoverton.net. To read more about this personality, go to http://www.rickoverton.net today!
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