We are so used to the objects and events we have today that we never stop to think about how they looked when they were first created. The truth is there is something so fascinating about observing the first version of something and analyzing all the changes made before it became what it is today. If you have ever wondered what the first foam finger in 1971 or the first bikini in 1946 looked like, keep reading.
The first Miss America pageant, 1921.
The first Miss America contest took place on September 8, 1921, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. To increase tourism in the city, the event was scheduled for the weekend after Labor Day, so visitors would be encouraged to come and stay for the holiday. And it worked: 100,000 people showed up at the Boardwalk to watch the competition.
The first foam finger, 1971.
The very first foam finger was not actually made of foam. Created by Steve Chmelar, a high school student, the giant hand was made of hardware cloth and papier-mâché. Chmelar created the finger to show his support for his team Ottumwa Bulldogs at the 1971 Iowa High School Athletic Association Boy’s State Basketball Finals.
The world’s first-ever underground train journey, 1862.
Believe it or not, but the first subway station was created back in the 1860s as part of the Metropolitan Railway in London. The Edgware Road Station was opened for the public in January 1863 and still exists nowadays – but it is a lot safer today.
The first Ronald McDonald, 1963.
Originally portrayed by Willard Scott, Ronald McDonald did not look like he does today. Known as “Ronald McDonald, the Hamburger-Happy Clown”, the first version of the character appeared in three television commercials in 1963 before getting a makeover. It was only in 1966 that Ronald’s makeup and outfit we know today were designed.
The first version of Google, 1998.
The world’s biggest search engine was first launched in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Google was the successor of “BackRub”, the original search algorithm developed by these two Standford University students in 1996.
The very first modern playground swing, 1923.
While different versions of playgrounds have existed for centuries, this swingset was the first like the ones we know today. It was built at Wicksteed Park in Kettering, UK, the first amusement park in the country.
Marathoners competing at the first Olympic Games in the Modern Era, 1896.
As you probably know, the ancient Olympic Games took place in Olympia, Greece from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. It was only a few centuries later, in 1896, that a modern version of the event was held for the first time in Athens, Greece.
The world’s first designed record cover, 1938.
Before 1938, all albums were sold in plain brown wrappers. It was only then that a young designer called Alex Steinweiss pitched the idea of adding covers to albums to Columbia Records. Later that year, Rodgers and Hart’s Smash Song Hits became the first record to have an album cover.
The first meme ever published, 1921.
You might think that memes are a brand new invention, but some people argue that they date back to the 1920s. First published in a magazine called The Judge, this cartoon pioneered the ‘Expectation vs. Reality’ format that we still see in memes nowadays.
The first design of Voldemort for the Harry Potter movies, 2001.
When Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone came out, we all thought Lord Voldemort looked pretty scary. But if the movie producers had decided to stick with the first design created for the character, it would have been a lot more terrifying.
The first people to ever appear in a photograph, 1838.
Back in 1838, photographer Louis Daguerre took a snapshot of Boulevard du Temple, a road in Paris, France. Back then, images needed a long exposure time, so people walking around were not captured. However, these two men unknowingly stood still long enough to become part of this historic photo.
The first-ever tweet, 2006.
The first time anyone ever used Twitter to write a message was on March 21st, 2006. Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of the social network, was the first person to tweet. He simply wrote: “just setting up my twttr”.
The first banana shipment arriving in Norway, 1905.
Because Norway does not grow bananas, the country has to import them from their European neighbors. It was back in 1905 that the very first batches of bananas were sent to Norway in crates weighing over 6,600 lb.
The first karaoke machine, 1971.
The first karaoke machine was created in 1971 by a Japanese musician called Daisuke Inoue. The musician did not earn a single dollar from his billion-dollar invention because he purposefully did not patent the machine. He explains that he simply wanted to “teach the world to sing”.
One of the first photobombs ever, c. 1853.
This photo taken by Mary Dillwyn, one of the earliest female photographers in Wales, is considered the first example of a photobomb. The subjects of this portrait, Sally and Mrs. Reed, have no idea that a third person is behind them in the picture.
First Aerosmith tour van, c. 1970.
Formed in Boston, Massachusetts, Aerosmith has been touring since 1970. The band used to drive from city to city in this van until it was abandoned in Chesterfield, MA by its owner after a falling out. The owner of the van, in fact, is the man drawn on the side of the car – his name is Mark Lehman, and he was the band’s sound engineer and driver.
The first selfie, 1839.
Taken by American photographer Robert Cornelius, this is also the first known photo of a human in the United States. He was responsible for operating two of the earliest photography studios in the United States at the beginning of the 1840s and created techniques that significantly reduced the exposure time needed for portraits.
Chicago Cubs first team mascot, 1908.
Clark was introduced in 2014 as the team’s first official mascot, but the truth is the Chicago Cubs have already had a mascot in the past. Back in 1908, they had this nameless polar bear as their lucky charm.
First-ever US supermodel, c. 1898.
Evelyn Nesbit is considered the first American supermodel. At age 20, Evelyn moved by herself to New York City where she worked as a model for important photographers. Her face was on all types of products, and between 1900 and 1905 she was the biggest name for beauty and modeling in the country.
First McDonalds in the Soviet Union, 1990.
When the first McDonald’s restaurant opened in the center of Moscow on January 30th, 1990, people went crazy. Forming several-kilometer-long lines on Pushkinskaya Square, 30,000 Russians waited outside to try a Big Mac for the first time. This actually set the world record for most customers on the opening day of a McDonald’s branch.
First aerial photograph of New York City, 1906.
To take this aerial picture of New York City, photographer James A. Hart used a hot air balloon. This impressive photo shows Lower Manhattan and New York Harbor in 1906, and the Singer Building – the tallest building at the time – is visible in the top-center of the photograph.
The first color televisions, 1954.
The world’s first mass-produced color televisions were introduced to the general public in March 1954. Back then, the 15-inch picture tubes were sold for $1,000 (equivalent to $9,777 today).
The first-ever team photo in baseball history, 1858.
The Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, now known as the New York Knickerbockers, was founded in 1845. It was one of the first organized baseball teams to ever play with a similar set of rules to the game today. It was so ahead of its time that a few years later, in 1851, the team wore the first-ever recorded baseball uniforms.
First Barbie doll, 1959.
Introduced in both blonde and brunette, Barbie dolls were officially launched in March 1959. Created by Ruth Handler – who named the doll after her daughter, Barbra – the doll was the first mass-produced toy doll with adult features in the United States.
The first-ever underwater photograph, 1899.
This portrait was taken by diver and photography pioneer Louis Marie Auguste Boutan in the South of France in 1899. The subject of the photo is Romanian oceanographer and biologist Emil Racovitza, who posed for 30 minutes at an impressive depth of 164 feet.
The first computer virus, 1986.
Brain, the first personal computer virus started infecting floppy disks in 1986. The virus was created by two brothers, Basit and Amjad Farooq Alvi, who ran a computer store in Pakistan and were tired of customers making illegal copies of their software. Brain had a hidden copyright message, but unlike other PC viruses, didn’t corrupt any data.
The first electric traffic light in the world, 1914.
The first electric traffic light in the world was installed on the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland, Ohio, on the 5th of August in 1914. At the time, the installation cost $1,500, which is equivalent to $39,452.10 today.
The world’s first digital camera, 1975.
The first digital camera ever created was engineered by Kodak in 1975. With the size of a toaster, it captured black and white images at a resolution of 0.01 megapixels. The images were stored in cassette tapes, which would take 23 seconds to write them.
First hard drive, 1956.
The world’s first hard drive, the RAMAC 305 system, was created by IBM in 1956. The system held 5MB of data at $10,000 a megabyte, which would be equivalent to $96,696 per megabyte today. As seen in this picture, the drive was as big as two refrigerators.
First Monopoly game, 1935.
An earlier version of Monopoly, known as The Landlord’s Game, was created in 1902. However, the game as we know it was released in 1935 by the company Parker Brothers. This small box came with a separate board much like the ones we have today.
The first telephone call, 1876.
The first successful telephone call was made by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. This call took place in his Boston Laboratory, and the inventor called his assistant Thomas Watson. His words on the phone were, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.”
The first photo ever captured, 1826.
This world-famous photograph was taken by French inventor Nicéphore Niépce in 1827. Called View from the Window at Le Gras, this image shows parts of buildings and surrounding countryside of the photographer’s estate, Le Gras, in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, France.
The world’s first modern version of the bikini as we know it today, 1946.
While two-piece swimsuits have been worn all throughout history, the modern bikini as we know it today is considered to have been invented in 1946. Designed by Louis Réard, the bikini was worn by model Micheline Bernardini and introduced to the public at the Piscine Molitor, a popular public pool in Paris. In the picture, the model is holding a small box into which the entire bikini can be packed.
First blimp used for advertising, 1913.
The first blimp ever used for advertising was the Suchard Airship. This human-driven airship was financed by the Swiss chocolatier company Suchard to fly the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to the USA in 1913.
The first 3D movie, 1922.
The first 3D movie was The Power Of Love, a silent movie released in September 1922. It was the first movie to use anaglyph glasses and also the first to have an alternative ending. By closing one eye or the other, the viewer could choose between two different endings.
The first photo of the Chernobyl disaster, 1986.
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred in April 1986, at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. This picture was taken by photographer Igor Kostin, who was in the first helicopter to fly over the area to evaluate radiation levels. In fact, the foggy aspect of the picture is due to the high radiation.
First neon sign on the Las Vegas Strip, 1941.
Today, the Las Vegas Strip is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. But before 1941, it was only a stretch of land with few buildings. On April 3rd, 1941, El Rancho Vegas became the first casino-resort to be built in the area.
First X-Ray, 1896.
In 1896, professor Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen was doing experiments with electrical discharges when he observed a glow being cast on the wall. After months of trying to understand this ray “X”, he realized that objects placed in the path of the rays created images on the wall. Using a photographic plate, he asked his wife to place her hands in the path of the light, creating the first X-ray picture.
The first snowfall ever recorded in the Sahara desert, 1979.
The first snowfall in the Sahara occurred in 1979. The town of Ain Sefra, where it happened, was not prepared for this incident, and cars ended up stranded on the icy roads. Thankfully, the snow dissipated in a few hours, allowing the desert to return to its sandy landscape.
First picture of Stonehenge, c. 1867.
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England. Since it was produced by a culture that left no written records, it is surrounded by mystery. Archeologists believe it was built from 3000 BC to 2000 BC, but no one knows how it was built and for what purposes it was used.
First people on the Golden Gate Bridge, 1937.
The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the main symbols of California nowadays. Connecting San Francisco to Marin County, this structure has even been considered one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. This is what it looked like moments after its opening on May 27th, 1937.
First MGM lion, 1924.
Slats was the first lion used by MGM on their logo. It was born in March 1919 and was part of the studio’s films between 1924 and 1928. Slats’ first appearance happened in the 1924 movie He Who Gets Slapped, and it’s the only MGM lion who isn’t shown roaring.
The first-ever documented case of biofluorescence in Tasmanian devils, 2020.
Captured at the Toledo Zoo in Ohio, this picture shows that Tasmanian devils are biofluorescent animals. While this phenomenon is more common in fish, some land mammals such as platypuses, squirrels and possums have also shown this characteristic.
The first Hollywood(land) sign, 1923.
Originally, the Hollywood sign read Hollywoodland. Erected in 1923, its purpose was to advertise a new housing development in the hills and was only intended to last for a year and a half. But with the rise of American cinema in Los Angeles, the sign became an internationally known symbol and was left on Mount Lee. It was refurbished in 1949 and its last four letters were removed.
The first woman to officially compete in the Boston Marathon, 1967.
Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to ever officially register as a Boston Marathon runner in 1967. Even though the marathon rule book made no mention of gender, race organizers opposed women competing in the marathon and tried to stop her and remove her bib.
The very first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, 1931.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree attracts 125 million people each year, but this major tradition started small. On Christmas Eve 1931, construction workers at the Rockefeller Center decided to buy themselves a tree to lift their spirits. They decorated the 20-foot balsam fir with handmade garland and cranberry strings gifted by their families.
The first known photo of the Taj Mahal, c. 1850.
Built between 1632 and 1653, the Taj Mahal is one of the main symbols of India’s rich history. It was around 1850 that a picture of the mausoleum was taken for the first time. The photographer, Dr. John Murray, was a surgeon who worked for the East India Company.
The first Cherry Coke, 1985.
Way before Cherry Coke’s official release, many diners would put a spin on regular Coca-Cola by adding cherry syrup to customer’s drinks. But it was only in February 1985 that the first officially flavored Coca-Cola, the beloved Cherry Coke, was introduced to the public.
The first prototype of Mt. Rushmore, 1941.
The process of sculpting Mt. Rushmore started in October 1927, when 400 workers began to carve the likings of six United States Presidents to represent the first 150 years of American history. This is what sculptor Gutzon Borglum wanted the final design to look like.
The first McDonald’s burger joint, 1948.
In this picture, brothers Maurice (“Mac”) and Richard McDonald pose in front of their not-yet-opened first hamburger joint. They had already opened a BBQ joint in 1940, but the first McDonald’s hamburger restaurant was officially opened in November 1948 in San Bernadino, CA.
The first issue of The New Yorker, 1925.
Founded by a journalist couple, The New Yorker debuted on February 21st, 1925. Harold Ross and Jane Grant wanted to create a magazine that had sophisticated humor, unlike other humor publications considered “corny”. The first cover illustration was drawn by Rea Irvin, the magazine’s first art editor.
The first picture of the world’s largest meteorite, 1929.
The largest surviving meteorite in the world landed in Namibia less than 80,000 years ago. It was discovered in 1920 by a farmer and originally weighed 66 tons. Today, the Hoba remains the biggest meteorite ever found on Earth and it’s considered a tourist attraction in the country.
The first-ever image from the surface of the moon, 1966.
The first picture of the moon’s surface was taken by the Soviet spacecraft Luna 9. The spacecraft was part of the Soviet Union’s Luna program which consisted of several space missions between 1959 and 1976. Luna 9 was also the first-ever spacecraft to achieve a survivable landing on a celestial body.
The first album to debut at No.1 on the Billboard charts, 1975.
Since its creation in 1945, the Billboard 200 chart had never seen an album debut at No. 1. It was only on June 7th, 1975, that Elton John’s Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy achieved this feat. After achieving this milestone, the album spent six consecutive weeks in the first place.
The first animal to receive two bionic leg implants, 2010.
Oscar the cat was the first animal to receive two bionic leg implants in 2009. His surgery was performed by Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick, a veterinary surgeon that pioneered this operation and who believes these successful implants are a step forward in animal and human rehabilitation.
First published atlas, 1570.
The first world atlas ever published was the Theatrum orbis terrarum (Theater of the world) in 1570. Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius collected 70 maps on 53 pages, all written in Latin. Over the following four decades, numerous updated editions of the atlas were published in six other languages: German, Dutch, French, Spanish, English, and Italian.
Motorola engineer with the world’s first mobile phone, 1973.
John Mitchell was a pioneer in the field of mobile phone technology. The engineer was Motorola’s chief engineer for its mobile communication products and, along with his team, produced the first transistorized pager as well as the first portable cellphone.
The first Superman movie, 1978.
Starring Margot Kidder as Lois Lane and Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent, the first Superman movie ever filmed was released in 1978. The feature film was directed by Richard Donner and set a new record at the time for business during a pre-Christmas week with $12,044,352.
The first photograph of lightning, 1882.
The first-ever photograph of lightning was captured by William Jennings in 1882. Before appearing in pictures, lightning was always represented in paintings in form of zig-zags. Inspired by that, the photographer’s goal was to observe whether the natural phenomenon really had that shape.
The first YouTube video ever uploaded, 2005.
Me at the zoo was the first video ever uploaded to YouTube. It was uploaded by Jawed Karim, the website’s co-founder, on April 23rd, 2005. The video was recorded at the San Diego Zoo by Karim’s high school friend Yakov Lapitsky.
The first National Park in the world, 1872.
Established on March 1st, 1872, Yellowstone is the first National Park in the world. Named after the Yellowstone River, this extraordinary park is known for its diverse wildlife and numerous geothermal features, such as the Old Faithful geyser.
The world’s first passenger-carrying railway, 1807.
The Swansea and Mumbles Railway, known at the time as the Oystermouth Railway, was the first passenger horsecar railway in the world. Built in 1804, this railway carried the world’s first fare-paying passengers.
The first Apple computer, 1976.
The Apple I was the first computer presented to the public by Steve Jobs and the very first Apple product. To finance the creation of this desktop computer, Jobs sold his VW Microbus for a few hundred dollars. The Apple I was released on April 11th, 1976, and was originally sold for US$666.66 (equivalent to US$3080 today).
The first flower to grow entirely in space, 2016.
Did you know flowers can bloom in space? This experiment began in November 2015 when a NASA astronaut activated the “Veggie” system, which contained zinnia seeds. Only a couple of months later, in January 2016, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly shared pictures of a blooming flower growing in the International Space Station.
The first-ever instance of “Duck Face”, 1968.
This picture on the box of “Charades for Juniors” is probably the first-ever instance of someone doing the duck face as we know it. This pose became popular on social media around the year 2014 but might have been invented by this girl back in 1968.