The World's Fair and Technology: 8 Amazing Highlights

Ahead of next month's 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, we explore tech innovations--from the telephone to touchscreens--that premiered during the Fair's sprawling 159-year history

The Typewriter

Remember typewriters? You know, those archaic things the office girls use on Mad Men. The first model to achieve commercial success was the Remington 1--Mark Twain was an early adopter, even though the original model only typed in capital letters. The Remington 1 was overshadowed by the telephone at the 1876 Philadelphia World's Fair, but 4000 were sold by the following year. Significantly, the QWERTY letter layout invented during the Remington 1's development has (mostly) stood test of time. Your computer's keyboard probably retains that layout, despite clever and bizarre alternatives being available.

Image credit: Office Museum

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