Stopwatch Relics

By Oliver Richard

It is not unusual for people to wonder where the stopwatch originated. There are some that would dare say that ancient Egyptians were the creators of the first stopwatch and it is not as far-fetched as it would sound, because many ancient civilizations were responsible for inventing some advanced technological items. If you want proof, just take a look at the pyramids of Egypt and then figure out just how they managed to build them. Since it is impossible to ask the ancient Egyptians to show us a stopwatch of theirs, we can only start with the earliest known stopwatches which were made by Leon Breitling back in 1884.

This watch brand was expensive, because they were originally developed to be used in the aviation field. Although that was the intent, people started to purchase them and wear them as a status symbol. These original stopwatches were made before the electronics were developed and therefore are mechanical with a winding mechanism.

Most of these stopwatches had a large face and although that would be strange to wear like a regular watch, it was done anyway. The awkwardness didn't bother people since anything that cost a lot of money was considered to be good and used as a status symbol.

Now let's look at a stopwatch that has been a popular icon for the longest time. For more than fifty years the public has been enthralled by the popular show "60 Minutes". There was always a stopwatch up in the corner of the screen but did you ever think about the fact that they didn't have CGI back then? Yes, that stopwatch was real and for well over fifty years it sat there ticking away. Some would argue that it was the stopwatch that made the show so popular when it aired on September 24, 1968.

Even though the CGI stopwatch is not needed, it still wasn't thrown out like a piece of garbage. That very stopwatch that was a part of 60 Minutes for so many years now is actually on display at the Smithsonian, just like other famous TV icons like the bathrobe from Hawkeye Pierce. It is surprising for many that a little thing like a stopwatch has had such a big role in a popular TV show.

Though the stopwatch has evolved over the years the premise is still the same. It keeps track of laps, times laboratory experiments, and all sorts of other things. They can keep track of multiple laps, and they can even keep track of the time in multiple countries. It sure is a far cry from the original stopwatch created by someone in a far off land, but it is important that we remember it's humble roots, regardless of how advanced it has become now.

Every invention that we have today took a long hard road to get to where it is today, except for maybe the paperclip. When you hold a stopwatch in your hand think about it's history and the role that it has played in our society, because chances are there are a lot more instances than what we have mentioned here in this article. - 30552

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