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1440
Printing Press
What is it: Mechanical movable-type printer invented by Johannes Gutenberg.
What did it change: Mass production of books; spread of knowledge and literacy. -
First Newspaper
What is it: Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien, published in Germany.
What did it change: Regular news dissemination; birth of journalism. -
Semaphore Telegraph
What is it: Visual signaling system using towers and arms.
What did it change: Faster long-distance communication before electricity. -
Electric Telegraph
What is it: Invented by Samuel Morse; sent messages using electric signals.
What did it change: Instant long-distance communication for the first time. -
Telephone
What is it: Voice transmission device by Alexander Graham Bell.
What did it change: Real-time voice communication across distances. -
Radio
What is it: Wireless transmission of audio signals.
What did it change: Mass broadcasting of news, music, and entertainment. -
Television
What is it: Electronic system for transmitting moving images and sound.
What did it change: Visual media became a central part of home communication. -
ARPANET
What is it: First packet-switching network; precursor to the internet.
What did it change: Foundation for global digital communication. -
World Wide Web
What is it: Invented by Tim Berners-Lee; system of interlinked web pages.
What did it change: Made the internet accessible and useful for the public. -
Email
What is it: First electronic mail sent by Ray Tomlinson.
What did it change: Fast, written digital communication across the world. -
Social Media Platforms
What is it: Facebook and others enabling user-generated content sharing.
What did it change: Transformed personal communication, news, and marketing. -
Mobile Messaging Apps
What is it: Apps like WhatsApp enabling instant global text, voice, and video chats.
What did it change: Real-time, on-the-go communication became standard.