Technology & Why It Fascinates Us
It was promised to be a spectacle unlike any other before it. The most advanced technologies in the world to be showcased. It would be a wonder and held in a building that itself was a spectacle of modern engineering and architecture. The year was 1851. The building was the Crystal Palace. And what a show it was!
The Crystal Palace Exhibition was perhaps the first large-scale event promoting technology advancements in modern society. Perhaps far deeper in our history, we celebrated the latest advancement in the bronze axe at local gatherings? If stock markets had existed, shares in copper and tin mines would’ve been through the roof!
In the mid1950’s, Ford launched the Edsel, touting it as the most advanced yet affordable car ever made. It was marketed with great fanfare. Lot’s of media coverage and for the time, significant marketing budgets. It was riddled with mechanical problems and never quite adopted by the consumer market.
The concord supersonic jet was indeed a marvel of engineering. It flew from 1969 until it’s last intercontinental flight in 2003. The only problem was that it was rather expensive to both operate and take a flight on.
