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Smart TVs have become a thing with people enjoying their favorite series, streaming different movies, and making it a different way to entertain people. Gone are the days with the wooden console or the bulky TVs that you remember from the 90s. Here are 5 things you didn’t know your smart TV could do. 

Smart Commands 

Maybe you want to check the weather, your crypto, or even ask a simple question for your kid. It feels more convenient to save time and just start your day off right.

Help You With Your Party 

You might not have a DJ or some equipment but you can play your favorite playlist right on the screen. Whether you use Pandora, Spotify, or something else, it helps you stay attentive at your party while keeping the flow going. 

Keep In Touch With Business Contacts and Family

Sure, you can use your laptop but sometimes it feels better to play a video through your tv screen. Get a video chat app with a quality webcam to help you speak to your relatives every now and again. Also, you’ll have more room to do a video conference with your clients and colleagues. 

Get You in Good Fitness

There are different exercise channels right on your Smart TV to help you get that nice workout before you start the day. Get some quality time to yourself to stay in shape before tackling your daily tasks. 

Become Your Own Personal Chef 

Sure, you can look up a video on YouTube but it’s even better to get step-by-step instructions from one of the food apps on your tv. The great thing is you rewind back and even substitute certain ingredients to make the recipe more for your taste buds. 

While we know about X-Rays for surgery or diagnosing specific issues with our bodies, there’s a lot have ground we haven’t covered. X-Rays do more than tell you about what’s wrong with a bone or a ligament. Here are 5 facts about X-Rays.

It Was an Accident 

In 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen was doing some lab work and trying to see if cathode rays could pass through glass. Nearby he noticed a glow coming from a chemically-coated screen. He called them “X” rays because he didn’t know their origins. 

They Were Originally Thought To Be Completely Safe for Humans 

Even though they were already used in World War I to locate bullets in the human body, X-Ray technicians often got the bad end of this exposure. Thomas Edison’s assistant, Clarence Daily, ended up dying from skin cancer in 1904. 

X-Rays Travel Quickly

All electromagnetic radiation (X-Rays included) travels at the speed of light in a vacuum to the tune of 186,000 miles per second.

Helped Unlock Secrets to DNA

In the early 1950s, scientists already knew about the double-helix structure. Later, this set the foundation for diagnostic testing, understanding the human body, and helping people get into optimal health.

X-Rays Are the Oldest Medical Technology 

The fact that they were found over 100 years ago and remain relevant to this day shows their longevity. Medical professionals still use X-Rays for medical imaging to help track ongoing illness or injury. 

Robotics is becoming a larger industry because of complex medical procedures, convenience, and other things. There are different robots throughout the world to make life a bit easier. Here are 5 of the most advanced robots in the world. 

Spot (created by Boston Dynamics in the USA in 2016)

This is an example of a robotic. You might be thinking about Rush from MegaMan but that’s not quite it. Spot can move around your home or office like a dog but it’s a bit different. He can map out your environment, sense obstacles, and lift packages for you. Talk about a good way to take it easy on your back.

Pepper (developed by Aldebaran Robotics and acquired by SoftBank Robotics in 2015)

This is one of the world’s social robots that can recognize you by face. It can engage with you through conversation and can read certain emotions as well. Scary but cool. 

Stuntronic (made by Walt Disney Imagineering in the USA)

The name says it all. If you ever wondered about the animatronics that due amazing flips and twists, the Stuntronic figures do it well. They have advanced technology with sensors that help gauge movement and timing.

Atlas (developed by Boston Dynamics 2016) 

You’ve probably witnessed that one video clip of it doing some crazy parkour stunts. Well, this humanoid has a dynamic body shape that allows it to move quickly and balance on different terrain. Between the running, jumping, and flipping, it’s a marvel to watch each time. 

Sophia (created by Hanson Robotics in Hong Kong in 2016)

When you’re talking about advanced, this is one another level. Think of “I, Robot” but with more human scaling. Sophia has 50 different human facial expressions. David Hanson created Sophia in the image of late actress Aubrey Hepburn and his wife Amanda Hanson. Sophia is made for research, education, and entertainment.

Cell phones are almost as important as the wallet in our pockets. Whether you’re calling people, getting a ride, or even checking out places to go, it’s an essential tool you need to help you stay active in the world. Cell phones are here to stay and continue to advance with time. Here are 5 things you didn’t know about the history of the cell phone. 

The First Cell Phone Weighed 2 Pounds

If you ever watched an 80s movie, you notice powerful executives or people with money were wielding these “small babies.” The first phone call from these “brick phones” was made in 1973 by Martin Cooper, an executive with Motorola. The catch was you had to charge it for 10 hours but only got 30 minutes of call time. 

Motorola Had a $4,000 Phone in 1983

It took 10 years to make the first call public and it wasn’t cheap. This version of the cell phone cost $4,000! Yikes!!! Even the iPhone 14 Pro Max to be released later in 2022 won’t cost nearly as much as that brick phone.

Nokia Changed the Game in 2000

The first few years of the 2000s became sleeker and more efficient. The Nokia 6000 series featured a phone that could fit in your pocket, purse, and palm comfortably. Also, you could browse the web. 

The Sidekick Took Things to Another Level 

Before the Sidekick came out, you had to literally type in T9 (that was like writing on a pocket typewriter). However, the Sidekick had a full keyboard you slide out behind the screen which made texting so much easier. 

The iPhone Made the Cell Phone An Everyday Tool 

Sure, the original concept of a cell phone is to communicate with people no matter where you are in the world. However, 2007 started to make a name, especially with its mini-computer features. The touch screen functions, virtual keyboard, and other things made it a hit later. Sure, Blackberry dominated for a while but several years later, everyone started rocking that iPhone. 

The internet came with the information age and continues to thrive for business, social, science, entertainment, and other things. It’s literally at the tips of our fingers. However, it didn’t always start that way. Here are some things you may not have known about the internet. 

It Started Out as a Military Project

Before memes, gifs, and other entertaining things, the internet was something very serious. It was created to thwart potential nuclear threats. Many were worried that a nuclear bomb would disrupt communications. A scientist named J.C.R. Licklider thought of the idea of a “Galactic Network” that would keep working even if large parts of the communication infrastructure were destroyed. 

The Internet Just Consisted of 4 Computers in 1969

The beginning of the internet wasn’t that sophisticated compared to today’s technology. It’s crazy to think about this because over half of the world has some type of internet access. 

Mobile Internet 

Mobile internet is a common thing, but it wasn’t just 26 years ago. The Nokia 9000 Communicator was the first phone Internet-enabled and it launched in Finland in 1996. Of course, it was not cheap because the internet didn’t really become a mainstay until 1999-2000. It’s amazing to see how things have changed in just over 2 decades. 

The Web Isn’t Static 

The web has done a complete 180 in terms of how it’s used these days. In the 1990s, was more of a read-only, static page thing. However, Web 2.0 brought in more customization with mashups, blogs, and other web services. It’s interesting to see what the future will be with all of the apps and technology growing. 

The World Wide Web and the Internet Are Two Different Things 

Even though people use it more interchangeably these days, the World Wide Web is actually searching through websites. It was invented in 1991 and continues to be a mainstay with today’s internet. The internet is the umbrella involving computer networks and standardized protocols.

PageRank Is Named After Larry Page

Yup, the factor that helps you rank your webpage is actually named after Google co-founder Larry Page. Pretty interesting coincidence, right? 

When you’re talking about a scientist, inventor, and businessman, you can’t forget about one of the goats, Thomas Edison. He was one of the top-notch people that created the foundation for the modern world. Here are 5 top inventions from Thomas Edison.

Automatic Telegraph 

While the entire concept of a telegraph wasn’t completely new, Edison refined it. Samuel Morse made it possible to communicate over long distances overseas with his original telegraph. However, it could only get 25-40 words a minute because of the Morse code. Edison revamped this to a much superior system that allowed for 1,000 words a minute, which would be useful for important messages at a moment’s notice. 

Carbon Telephone Transmitter

Alexander Graham Bell did a great job creating the telephone, but the problem was the weak transmission. Edison created a battery to help control the current on the phone line. The transmitter he developed helped with the sound waves (leading to better reception). He upped the ante from lampblack by creating granules made with coal. This update was relevant up until the 1980s. 

The Light Bulb

Edison didn’t invent the incandescent light bulb, but he improved the design. He was fortunate enough to see the mistakes of other inventors. He invented the vacuum bulb but decided to experiment with a carbonized filament. He found that bamboo had enough fibers for a solid filament. The combination of a bamboo filament and an upgraded vacuum pump helped give the bulb 1,200 hours of staying power. 

Phonograph

This is probably one of the greatest inventions ever. After creating the telephone transmitter, Edison wanted to take things a step further by developing a machine that could record and playback telephone messages. However, he found that he could record music and other sounds. However, his cylinder records became obsolete after a while. The cylinder records he created had the best sound but could only play two minutes of music. However, the early discs Victor Talking Machine Company created with their phonographs played four minutes. 

Alkaline Storage Battery

This became a big payoff for Edison in his later years. One of the things that came out at the time was the automobile in the late 1800s. It was powered by a clunky battery that had constant eroding problems. Edison thought of ways to create a better and sleeker battery to help manage this issue. It took a while but he was able to invent a dependable alkaline battery. Although Henry Ford developed the Model T car with an internal combustion engine, Edison’s storage battery served well for mining camps, trains, submarines, and other things for many years.