Tellus Science Museum, Cartersville, Georgia

The Tellus Science Museum can be seen from I-75 going north out of Atlanta. We traveled that road many years and always thought about stopping, but of course never did. This year was different as I wanted to visit Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield as well after visiting with Jim's brother and his wife in Gainesville. I planned our route west to Acworth so we could visit these two places. The Tellus Science Museum is a Smithsonian affiliate and is a program of Georgia Museums, Inc.

The first thing that we discovered upon entering was Foucault's Pendulum showing the Earth's rotation. The Foucault Pendulum was invented in the mid-1800's by French physicist Leon Foucault to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth. It is hard for us to believe the Earth is rotating at approximately 1000 miles per hour when we can't feel it. The Foucault Pendulum helps demonstrate that this is true.

The small blocks help to show the speed at which the Earth is rotating. At our latitude another block is knocked over about every 10 minutes. How long will it take the pendulum to knock down all the blocks? Approximately 21 hours and 20 minutes. Remember, it knocks down blocks on both sides of the circle with each swing.

Leon Foucault

Foucault first demonstrated the rotation of the Earth in 1851 using his freely suspended pendulum in Paris, France.

The period for the pendulum to come full circle depends on the latitude. At the North Pole it would take exactly 23 hours and 56 minutes, the time it takes the Earth to turn once on its axis. The further one goes from the North Pole, the longer it takes because there is more distance to cover as the Earth turns. Here in Cartersville, it takes 42 hours, 39 minutes and 32 seconds. At the equator the direction of the pendulum would not appear to change.

Millar Science in Motion Gallery ~~ 

1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen

Carl Benz at the tiller of his Motorwagen in 1887. Carl Benz was the first to integrate an engine with a specially designed automobile body. Prior to the patenting of the Benz Motorwagen in 1886, inventors had simply added an engine to a horse-drawn vehicle. 

Benz chose to build his car with three wheels because he was not satisfied with the steering systems then available for four-wheeled vehicles. It was maneuvered by a vertical steering tiller and stopped with a hand brake. 

Benz's wife, Bertha, made motoring history in 1888 when she and her two sons drove over 50 miles to her mother's home. During their journey they stopped at an apotheke store to purchase benzene for fuel.

Shaw Motorbike, circa 1912

1908 Indian Motorcycle

1896 Ford Quadricycle

The lessons Ford learned building the quadricycle encouraged him to continue experiments that led to the founding of the Ford Motor Company in 1903. While Ford did not invent the automobile, he was instrumental in bringing efficiency and economy to automobile production.

1899 Locomobile 

Locomobile is a name derived from the joining of the words "locomotive" and "automobile." This steam car was lightweight, powerful and fast for its time. In 1899 a Locomobile could be purchased for $600. The Locomobile was made of steel tubing and, similar to a bicycle, had spoked wheels and a chain and sprocket drive. The car did not have gears and only primitive brakes. The Locomobile was designed by twin brothers Freelan and Francis Stanley, two of the early pioneers in steam automobile development.

The driver sat on the right side of the car, steering with a tiller and controlling speed with levers and valves. The water level in the boiler, located under the seat, was monitored by checking a glass tube. Other gauges and valves on the dash allowed the driver to monitor the pressure and flow of water and fuel.

1902 Elmore

The Elmore Manufacturing Company was founded in 1892 to produce bicycles. After the decline of the bicycle industry, the company turned to automobile manufacturing. While other automobile producers used four-stroke engines, the Elmore was designed with a two-stroke engine, boasting it had "no valves nor any of the other trouble making parts." The 1902 Elmore had a two-cylinder, two-stroke engine mounted under the seat and a three-speed transmission.

1902 Orient Buckboard

This wooden motor car was marketed as being light, simple, and "The Cheapest Automobile in the World." The price for this 1902 model was $425 and for an extra $22 you could add a top. Waltham Manufacturing produced about 2500 Orient Buckboards between 1902 and 1908. Made almost entirely of wood, this car features a two-speed transmission and a vertically-mounted, air-cooled gasoline engine. The only suspension is provided by the flexibility of the wood.

1903 Holsman 

Early Holsmans were essentially carriages with simple engines and transmissions. They were the first cars to be able to go in reverse. Selling for $625 in 1903, Holsman advertisements boasted they had, "no clutches or gears, no water or pumps, and no overheating." 

The large wooden wheels allowed the driver to ride more easily over rutted country roads. The company's slogan was "high wheels travel all roads because all roads are made to be traveled by high wheels." Holsman automobiles were produced between 1901 and 1911. Only 13 vehicles were built in 1903, including the one on exhibit here.

1903 Waverly Electric Road Wagon Model 21

The Waverly was one of America's first electric cars. This is one of the few 1903 Road Wagons known to still exist, and may be the only one remaining. It retains its original condition and, with the use of modern-day batteries, still runs. Company owner Colonel Albert A. Pope was determined to concentrate on noisy, smelly, gasoline-powered automobiles, but on clean, quiet, electric cars. Pope believed that "You can't get people to sit over an explosion."

The Waverly was marketed to women drivers. It could be easily started "without soiling hand, gloves, or clothing" unlike the hand-cranked internal combustion engine cars of the time. The 1903 was promoted as having "no complications. Turn on power and steer."

1948 Bell-47 Helicopter

The Bell-47 is the most popular helicopter ever built. Originally designed for the military, it became the first helicopter certified for commercial us in 1947. Bell distributed 5,000 Model 47s for both civilian and military applications. They are especially remembered for its role in evacuating wounded soldiers during the Korean War and transporting them to Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals (MASH). 

Bentley Planetarium; Our Amazing Universe ~~

The Hubble Telescope has been sending pictures of the universe back to Earth for many years. The James Webb Space Telescope has more or less replaced the Hubble as it has gone out farther into space than the Hubble. The Webb was launched December 25, 2021. It has already changed our understanding of the early universe, of how stars are born and die, and of other planets. Webb gathers data from the infrared spectrum which is invisible to our eyes. This range lets astronomers see objects obscured by dust clouds in visible light and develop images of very distant or colder objects in unprecedented detail. It orbits the Sun one million miles away from Earth, and its data continues to answer new scientific questions.

Pismis 24

The Near-Infrared Camera on Webb reveals just how much the stars of star cluster Pismis 24 have sculpted the surrounding nebula with their radiation and stellar winds. Within these spires formed by the intense forces of the young, massive stars, new stars are forming. This cluster is one of the closest sites to Earth of massive star birth and gives astronomers the chance to study these stars and see how they evolve.

Jupiter

Webb's equipment peers into both distant nebulae and the atmospheres of much closer celestial objects. This image of Jupiter was created using near-infrared data gathered with four different filters. This detected changes in small atmospheric features over 10 days or one Jupiter day. Study of these changes identified a new jet stream at Jupiter's equator barreling along at 320 mph, about 25 miles above the clouds.

Tarantula Nebula 

The near-infrared camera of Webb reveals a cluster of young blue stars whose radiation has cleared out an opening in the nebula around them. Protostars are nestled in the surrounding is dust clouds. This star nursery is chemically similar to the star-forming regions common when the universe was only a few billion years old. Its study will help astronomers learn what the universe was like in its early development.

Cassiopeia A

Light from an exploding massive star reached Earth 340 years ago and the remnants of this supernova, called Cassiopeia A, have been studied ever since. Webb's imaging revealed new details like the green loop near the middle of the remnant dubbed the "Green Monster." Overlaying observations from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Hubble Space Telescope onto Webb data as in this image provides a fuller picture of what remains of the dea

d star.

NGC 1566

This combination of images from the Hubble Space Telescope (top left) and the Webb (bottom right) shows two different ways of viewing the universe. Hubble gathers visible and ultraviolet data while Webb gathers infrared data. Dust absorbs visible light, appearing dark in Hubble images, and then emits it as infrared, appearing bright orange for Webb.

Cosmic Cliffs

Webb's infrared cameras peer beyond the thick gas and dust that can obscure stars in visible light imaging. This portion of star-forming region NGC 3324 within the Carina Nebula shows just how much detail can be seen with infrared. Dubbed the "Cosmic Cliffs," the area is the rim of an opening in the nebula created by radiation and stellar winds from massive young stars.

Ring Nebula

Visible with binoculars on a clear summer evening, the Ring Nebula is the final stages of a dying star. This near-infrared image from Webb provides exquisite detail of the star as it runs out of fuel and sheds layers of material. The core of the nebula ionizes the surrounding gas to create the colorful display. Webb's data improves understanding of the structures, conditions and processes of the life cycle of stars.

Sombrero Galaxy

Webb's mid-infrared Instrument's high resolution brings the details of the Sombrero galaxy into sharp focus. Rather than a haze of material, the galaxy has clumps of dust in its outer ring. The galaxy is notable for its approximately 2,000 globular clusters. These groups of old stars are all roughly the same age but have different masses and properties. This allows astronomers to develop better comparisons between stars.

Cat's Paw Nebula

Nicknamed for its resemblance to a cat's paw, NGC 6334 is one of the most active star-forming regions in our galaxy. In this near-infrared image, Webb revealed that one of the larger "toe beans" is actually made of smaller "beans" where gas and dust have been carved away by massive young stars. Eventually, star formation here will slow and cease due to these stars.

Macke Great Hall -- The Dinosaurs ~~

This guy was actually in the great hall as you walk in and before heading into each of the galleries. Also known as "The Thunder Lizard," it lived during the Late Jurassic Era (140 million years ago). 

Brontosaurus

Brontosaurus was one of the longest and most massive dinosaurs to roam North America. It maintained its huge bulk by eating ground cover and shrubs, but it could also reach high treetops by rearing up on its back legs and tail. Its long tail also helped with balance and may have been used for defense. Like other sauropod dinosaurs, Brontosaurus swallowed rocks to aid digestion; these rocks are known as gastroliths.

This dinosaur was discovered in 1901 by the staff of the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh. Stored for 50 years, it was acquired by the University of Wyoming where it was prepared and displayed in 1961. In 2007 it was disassembled, updated to reflect new information, and prepared for casting. Tellus received the first cast in 2008.

Brontosaurus Femur

Fossil Dinosaur Poop

The Giant Ground Sloth

Although it looks fierce, this towering giant was actually an herbivore. It lumbered through the landscape eating shrubs, grasses, and tree leaves. To reach the highest leaves, it would stand upright on its hind legs, supported by its strong tail.

Found only in the Americas, giant sloths lived throughout the Southeast, including Georgia, during the last ice age. In the 1960s ground sloth bones were discovered in caves at Ladds Quarry in Cartersville, Georgia. Ground sloths became extinct in North America about 11,000 years ago.

Amber found in the Baltic Sea region tells us that the environment was once composed of swamps and humid forests, not like it is today with long, cold winters and short, cool summers.

I cannot even make this big enough to easily read. The graph at the bottom of the picture shows the geologic time scale. Each block equals 100 million years. Geologists have determined the Earth is 4.6 billion years old. Important events in Earth's geologic history are indicated on this scale. Notice that during most of Earth's history, life was very simple and took a long time to evolve. Human existence on Earth is represented at the end of the last block.

How to divide geologic time -- to deal with the 4.6 billion year history of the Earth, geologists divide time as follows:

        The largest spans of time are called Eons.

            Eons are divided into Eras.

                Eras are divided into Periods.

                    Periods are divided into Epochs.

These time units do not have a specific length. Instead, they track major changes in the environment and/or the appearance and extinctions of life.

(1)    The Hadean Eon: 4.6 to 4.0 billion years ago ~~ During the Hadean Eon, the Earth's surface was covered with lava and bombarded by comets and meteoroids. One very large collision knocked off a chunk of the planet, creating the Moon. As the surface cooled, continents formed and water condensed to form oceans, setting the stage for the first life on Earth.

(2)    The Archean Eon: 4.0 to 2.5 billion years ago ~~ In the waters of the Archean, the first life appeared. Later, single-celled organisms called cyanobacteria emerged. They used sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into food, a process called photosynthesis. The oxygen they released during that process began to change the Earth's atmosphere.

(3)    The Proterozoic Eon: 2.5 billion years ago to 542 million years ago ~~ Cyanobacteria dominated the shallow seas of the Proterozoic. They clumped together to form mat-like colonies. Sediments trapped in the layers created structures called stromatolites. The cyanobacteria released more and more oxygen until the atmosphere could support the explosion of life during the Cambrian.

(4)    Precambrian Time: 4.6 billion years ago to 542 million years ago ~~ The Precambrian began when the Earth formed 4.6 billion years ago and lasted for more than 4 billion years. During this time, Earth changed from a fiery, barren place to one that supports complex life.

The last Eon is the Phanerozoic Eon: 542 million years to present ~~

(1)    Paleozoic Era (542 to 261 million years ago). During the Paleozoic Era, life became abundant and complex. Many new animals developed hard body parts such as shells and bones. Eventually plants and animals spread from the oceans onto dry land. Alternating warm periods and ice ages caused sea levels to rise and fall. Continents flooded, creating shallow seas hospitable to life. Colliding continents created mountain ranges. These changes forced life to adapt or become extinct.

(2)    Mesozoic Era (251 to 65.5 million years ago). The Mesozoic Era marked major changes on Earth. Pangea began to break apart, resulting in the continents of today. A shallow sea divided North America in two: Laramidia to the west and Appalchia to the east. First appearing in the Jurassic, dinosaurs soon dominated the land. Flying reptiles, birds and mammals also appeared. During the Cretaceous towering plants spread across the world. The oceans teemed with marine reptiles, sharks and ammonites. This abundance of life came to an abrupt end 66 million years ago with a catastrophic mass extinction.

(3)    Cenozoic Era (65.5 million years ago to present) is the age of mammals. The Cenozoic Era is the most recent geologic era and includes our current time period. It is known as the "Age of Mammals" because they became numerous and widespread after the extinction of the dinosaurs. Some become very large, such as the mammoth, mastadon, and giant ground sloth, but most were small. A variety of other life also thrived during this time, such as birds and flowering plants. In more recent times humans became the dominant species and have had a significant impact on the planet.

The Cenozoic began as life on Earth recovered from recent mass extinctions. The climate was warm at first, with tropical plants extending to arctic regions. Later, the Earth cooled and ice caps formed. The planet then experienced a series of ice ages that lasted until about 10,000 years ago.

Dimetrodon

The Dimetrodon lived during Middle Permian (280 million years ago). Although it looks like one, it is not a dinosaur. It went extinct millions of years before the first dinosaurs appeared. Part of a group of animals called synapsids, it is more closely related to mammals than to any reptile. 

Dromaeosaurs

The Dromaeosaurs lived during the Late Cretaceous (70 million years ago). It was a fierce and agile predator. It had a number of weapons at its disposal: slashing claws, long arms with large grasping hands, and strong jaws with sharp teeth. It is closely related to birds because they share similar skeletal structures. Although they could not fly, they also had several different types of specialized feathers.

Edmontosaurs

The Edmontosaurs lived during the Late Cretaceous (66 million years ago). It and other hadrosaurs are called duckbilled dinosaurs because of their long, wide snouts. They used their "beaks" to shear off tough vegetation in wetlands and forests before using their rasp-like teeth to grind it up. 

Appalachiosaurs

The Appalachiosaurs lived during the Late Cretaceous (78 million years ago). It hunted in the densely wooded rainforests of what became the southeastern United States. An earlier relative of the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex, its comparatively smaller size allowed it to move more easily through the trees and ambush its prey. This individual is the most complete skeleton discovered and one of the most complete dinosaurs found in the southeastern US. It was only a juvenile when it died, but if it had reached adulthood, it would have been almost 30 feet long.

Deinosuchus

The Deinosuchus lived during the Late Cretaceous (83-72 million years ago). This ancient relative of the alligator lurked in wetlands along the coasts of the Western Interior Seaway that divided North America. The largest could grow almost 40 feet long but even smaller ones were monsters with large teeth. It mainly feasted on turtles and fish although it could take on large prey dinosaurs when it had the chance.

"Stan" the T-Rex

The T-Rex lived during the Late Cretaceous (68 million years ago). It was the largest dinosaur of its time. It used its huge, serrated, banana-shaped teeth to rip chunks off its prey. Like modern large carnivores, they probably took advantage of whatever food was available -- whether by hunting or scavenging. It was roughly the size of an adult turkey when hatched, and did not reach its adult size until it was about 20 years old. Life was not easy for the T-Rex. This skeleton, named Stan after its discoverer, shows evidence of its fight for survival. It has fractured and healed ribs, a broken neck that healed, and even a partially heald hole the size of a T-Rex tooth in the back of its skull. Through all this, Stan lived to fight another day.

Geologist Charles Pillmore next to the T-Rex footprint he found in 1983 in northeastern New Mexico, the first one ever found. The large size, shape, and age of this footprint meant only one kind of dinosaur could have made it -- Tyrannosaurus Rex. Stepping in mud, the T-Rex left behind a print that later filled in with sand to create a cast. This was the first one ever found, and only a few more have been discovered since.

Preserved dinosaur tracks provide insights into how dinosaurs actually moved. Calculations based on the size and structure of T-Rex prints indicate that it walked between four and five miles per hour, faster than the average person.

"Lane" with Baby "Lily" Triceratops

The Triceratops lived during the Late Cretaceous (70-65 million years ago). Weighing up to 12 tons, it was the largest ceratopsian, a group of dinosaurs with horns and a large frill at the base of the skull. Paleontologists believe the frill had blood vessels that helped regulate body temperature. Triceratops may have used their horns in combat. Bone specimens have shown damage caused by their horns on predators and rivals of their own species. The adult is a cast of a Triceratops found by a rancher in Wyoming, who named it "Lane" after her grandson. The baby "Lily" was cast using bones from various individuals.

Protostega

The Protostega lived during the Late Cretaceous (80 million years ago). It was one of the largest turtles to ever live. Despite its size, it had to crawl on sandy beaches to lay its eggs like other sea turtles. It probably lived in a similar way to the modern-day leatherback sea turtle. Its shell had a framework of bone, keeping it light enough to be a fast, long-distance swimmer. This giant turtle fed on the ocean's small plants and animals and grew rapidly. Their large size helped protect them from becoming a meal for mosasaurs, sharks, and plesiosaurs. Although this species is extinct, other marine turtles survived the mass extinction that ended the Cretaceous -- the only marine reptiles to do so. No fossils of this species have been found in Georgia, but many have been found in Alabama.

Xiphactinus (the Bulldog Fish)

The Xipactinus lived durin the Late Cretaceous (83 million years ago). It was one of the fiercest predators in the sea. In North America, it swam in the warm waters of the Western Interior Seaway that divided the continent in two: Laramidia to the west and Appalachia to the east. Its long, slender body and wing-like fins made it fast and agile. It used its large, conical teeth to grip any prey small enough to be swallowed whole. Sometimes, they may have swallowed more than they could handle. Multiple specimens have been found with large, undigested or partially digested prey in their stomachs.

Mosasaur (Ancient Sea Serpent)

The Mosasaur lived during the Cretaceous Age (110 to 95 million years ago). A reptiled related to snakes and lizards, it adapted to life in the ocean. Like snakes, it had two extra rows of teeth on the top of its mouth that helped hold its prey captive while swallowing. Its lower jaws were held together at the front by ligaments that could stretch apart to swallow larger animals. 

A shark-like tail fin gave the Mosasaurs the speed to ambush its victims while its paddle-like flippers provided steering and stability. Like other marine reptiles, it had to return to the surface to breathe. Rather than lay eggs, it likely gave birth to live young. 

Megalocoelacanthus

The Megalocoelacanthus lived during the Late Cretaceous (82 million years ago). This fish is a large coelacanth, part of a group of fish with fins on their sides more closely related to amphibians, reptiles, and mammals than to other fish. It was a toothless predator who drifted the seas, eating algae and swallowing smaller fish and other sea animals. Remains have been found in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kansas. The earliest coelacanth fossils date back 410 million years ago. They were once thought to have become extinct 66 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period. In 1938, however, a live coelacanth was caught off the coast of Africa. Others have since been discovered in waters around East Africa and Indonesia.

Zarafasaura (Long-necked Sea Monster)

The Zarafasura lived during the Cretaceous Age (72 to 66 million years ago). It is part of a group of marine reptiles called plesiosaurs that were found around the world. Plesiosaurs with extra-long necks like Zarafasura are known as elasmosaurs. No fossils have been found in Georgia, but other plesiosaurs have been found in Alabama and South Carolina. With 56 vertebrae, Zarafasura's extra-long neck gave rise to its name, "Zarfa," which comes from the Arabic for giraffe. Since their necks were so long, they could not hold their heads high above the water. All marine reptiles breathed air, so Zarafasura had to return to the surface to breathe, same as a whale does.

At the end of the Cretaceous over 60% of the Earth's species became extinct including all dinosaurs, mosasaurs, pleisosaurs, and ammonites. Most scientists believe the cause was an asteroid that hit the Earth and ejected tons of dust that blocked the sun for years.

The massive extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous may have been set up by intense volcanic activity. Increased soot and ash in the atmosphere could have blocked sunlight, gradually creating a colder climate on the planet that weakened many species.

Glyptodon (The Giant Armadillo)

The Glyptodon lived during the Pleistocene Age (500,000 years ago). It could not roll up into a ball for protection like its closest living relative, the tiny pink fairy armadillo. Instead, it relied on bony plates called scutes. These made up its shell, capped its head, and studded its flexible tail. Originally from South America, this "armored tank," lumbered along the landscape eating plants and grasses. 

When North and South America were connected by the Isthmus of Panama, this created a land bridge. Animals like glyptodonts and giant sloths migrated north while North American animals like tapirs and saber-toothed cats migrated south. Environmental changes and predation at the end of the last ice age caused their extinction.

Smilodon (Saber-tooth Cat)

The Smilodon lived during the Late Pleistocene (500,000 years ago). It roamed throughout North and South America. Its short, bobcat-like tail suggests it ambushed its prey instead of chasing it for long distances. Almost twice as heavy as today's lions, it held down its victim in its powerful, stocky limbs. Its canine teeth with sharp serrations on both sides were well suited for stabbing and slashing its prey. Although sometimes called saber-tooth tigers, they are part of an extinct group that is distinct from modern big cats.

Mastodon

The Mastodon lived during the Very Late Pleistocene (11,390 years ago). Only 8,000 years ago, mastodons still roamed North America. From Alaska to Florida, the American Mastodon dined on the abundant leafy foods in forests and wetlands. This skeleton of a 30-year old male is the most complete ever found. Even its stomach contents were preserved. Healed injuries to his lower spine and ribcage are evidence of old battles with other mastodons. Some of his ribs have cut marks on them, showing people butchered him for food more than 11,000 years ago.

Megaladon

The Megaladon lived during the Miocene to Middle Pliocene (23 to 3.6 million years ago). With gaping jaws studded with massive teeth, the giant shark megaladon ruled the warm oceans of its time. It ambushed its prey with rapid bursts of speed and was powerful enough to bite through a whale bone. Megaladon's size is estimated from its teeth since its skeleton, made of cartilage, is rarely preserved. Luckily, the average megaladon lost over 34,000 teeth in its lifetime, leaving behind plenty of teeth to find.

Beginning 50,000 years ago a series of extinctions ended the reign of giant mammals, including mastodons and giant ground sloths. Many of the carnivores that fed on them, such as saber-tooth cats, also disappeared. Climate change may have been one of the reasons for these extinctions because the Earth had warmed after the end of the last ice age. A more probable cause was the spread of a new predator who hunted these animals to extinction.

What will future fossil records say about us? Since its formation, Earth has changed dramatically from a harsh planet to a nurturing world. The climate has changed from warm and tropical, to cold and icy, and back again. Life has appeared in many forms and continues to evolve. These changes leave traces for us to study and struggle to understand.

Replaced by the Smart Phone ~~

What would we do without smartphones? Always available, they have become necessities. Making calls is the least of the things we do with our phones. We listen to music, watch TV, take pictures, make payments, and more all on one small device. It wasn't always this way. Each one of the tasks we do on a smartphone today used to need a separate device. In this gallery, many of these obsolete devices on display, showing just how much has been replaced by the smartphone.

Bringing the World Home

Radio arose from the telegraph. In 1901, short radio wave pulses were used to send Morse code messages. Technology soon improved enough to send continuous waves of sound for music and voices. The first radio broadcast in the United States aired in 1920. Radios quickly became an indispensible part of life, bringing world-wide news and entertainment into the home.

Wurlitzer circa 1940

Jukeboxes such as this one were popular in bars, diners and anywhere music was wanted without having to have a live band. Wurlitzer pioneered coin-operated music in the late 1800s and continued to produce jukeboxes until the 1970s. This jukebox's side pillars had internal rotating tubes that created a flame-like effect.

National Cash Register, circa 1907

This cash register was inventd to combat theft, but it wasn't long before additional features were added to record transactions and print receipts.

Music Any Time, Any Where

When people wanted to listen to music in the past, they had to make their own or attend concerts. Though the first recorded music systems had poor sound quality, the novelty of having music on demand made them popular. Each succeeding technology has focused on improving the quality and portability of music. Today, we can carry high-quality music anywhere on our smartphones.

Capturing Memories

Photography began as a complex and expensive process reserved for special occasions. Eventually, smaller, cheaper cameras were made, beginning the age of the snapshot. Home movies, a later innovation, also became a part of life. Today, we take selfies and videos with our smartphones and share them instantly.

What else has the smartphone replaced?

What else has the smartphone replaced?

Cutting the Cord

Early telephone couldn't overcome one problem: they had to be physically connected to the phone lines. Technology soon advanced enough to be mobile. It started with walkie-talkies and CB radios which used radio frequencies to transmit sound. These were limited by distance, and it wasn't until cell phones made their appearance that calls on the go became easy.

Can You Hear Me?

Though the telegraph was quick, people still longed for a more personal connection. Hearing someone's voice, actually talking to them in real time, became possible in 1876 with the invention of the telephone. While the technology has changed through time, phones still bridge the distance to far-away friends and family.

Instant Communication

The telegraph was the first step to the smartphone. Electrical pulses sent by a telegraph operator along wire stretched between stations were received almost instantaneously. For the first time, fast long-distance communication was possible. The world was suddenly a much smaller place, a trend that continues today.

Dawn of the Computer Age

The first computers were actually people who did mathematical calculations by and or using mechanical adding machines. When ENIAC,  the first general-use electronic computer, was completed in 1945, a new age of fast calculations dawned. Soon, computers were programmed to do a wide range of tasks and became an indispensible part of modern life.

Digital Equipment Corportaion, PDP-5, 1963

Significantly smaller than other computers available at the time, this machine was designed for laboratory and business use. Each cabinet had 150 printed circuit boards with over 900 transistors. Today, it would take 21 of its magnetic tapes to store one 5MB cell phone picture.

All in Good Fun

Playing cards and board games have provided many hours of entertainment throughout history. As electricity became a part of everyday life, games took advantage of the new medium. Arcades were popular and exposed people to digital games. Gaming soon moved into homes as smaller devices that hooked up to televisions were offered. Computing power continued to increase as did the complexity of video games. Now, we can play elaborate digital games or even just solitaire wherever we are on our smartphones.

Moving Images

Imagine watching a television with a resolution of only 30 lines and about 40 pixels per line. That's what you got on the tiny screen of the first televisions (in comparison, your smartphone is 720x1280). The novelty of it kept people invested in the technology until increased resolution and broadcasting made television a household item after Worl War II. Television spurred the development of devices to play back movies and shows and laid the groundwork for gaming and computer monitors.

Time is Money

Getting accurate, timely information is vital to being successful in business. From the telegraph, to the teletype, to the telephone, companies have adopted each new technology for rapid communication. Computers have also revolutionized how we do work, allowing for more efficiency and productivity. With a smartphone, you really do have the whole office in your pocket.