Interesting Facts from Communication Technologies

Google started as "back-rub" because the founders mistyped domain name to get google. The founders raised $1 million to open up a shop. They got $25 million venture capital funding to process 500,000 queries a day. Yahoo then made them their go to browser and then they had 200 million queries a day. Google changed communication through gmail. You could find photos instantly and store them there too.

Martin Luther mailed 95 thesis using printing press. He stated that printing is a "gift of God". Johannes Gutenberg invented it in the modern age, but ancient Asian civilizations developed it long before. 

The US Postal Service was created in Boston in1639. Ben Franklin was the first postmaster. The first roads and routes for delivery were developed in 1788. The first delivery was by railroad in 1832, and the first stamps were introduced in 1847. In 1860 the pony express was created, and zip-codes were introduced in 1963. Barcodes were later introduced in 1983. Pricing was controlled for every state. The USPS became a lifeline for the nations communication. Some problems were that it sometimes costed more to ship items than to make it. A problem with the USPS today is that not enough people work for them.

Bluetooth is used in all wireless technologies. In 1999 the first bluetooth device was created. Bluetooth makes phones, watches, computers, and headsets work.

The camera obscured was the first camera developed in 1685. It was a little box with a tiny hole to capture the reflection. China developed the true first camera in 400 BC. The first modern-day handheld camera barely worked in 1685. It was then perfected in 1816. Kodak, the most well-known camera company was  invented in 1888 by George Eastman.

Netflix was founded in 1997. Up until now there were mail orders for dvd rentals, so online streaming took business from Blockbuster and Redbox. Netflix first partnered with Xbox and Microsoft to help them with online screening. By 2016 Netflix was available in 190 countries. They took lots of business away from movie theaters, which caused theaters to start their own subscriptions to get people to return to live cinema. Before Netflix there weren't many options online for movie ordering, but now there are now over 300,000 options. A negative effect of Netflix is that it can lead to TV addiction and a sedentary lifestyle. A positive impact was that the Hollywood movie industry changed what type of movies were being made. 

Pigeons were first used to deliver messages in the ancient olympics to alert towns whether their athlete had won. The first airmail pigeons were used in New England 1896. Carrier pigeons were used a lot in WW1. It took 6 weeks to successfully train a carrier pigeon. Sadly, fewer than 10% of pigeons survived WW1. Soldiers and military as a whole grew to care for their carrier pigeons and realize their importance during wartime, so France said anyone who messed with a pigeons flight would be executed. Pigeons have won the Dickin Medal which is awarded to any animal who distinguishes themselves highly for a wartime act of bravery.