The electric cooker (stove) is actually more than 100 years old, but it did not really take off as a household appliance during its early years of development, mainly because the cost of electricity was so high. However, in 1905 an electrical engineer from Australia, David Smith, patented a new electric cooker that borrowed heavily from its high-cost predecessor. This new cooker used less electricity and provided a more even cooking surface by using heating elements and reflector plates. His original design from 1905 is still the basis for modern electric cookers today.

The rotary dial telephone is another device that did not gain wide acceptance when first invented sometime around 1904. Nevertheless, when AT&T decided to replace manual phone operators with automated switching, the rotary dial was there to facilitate the change. With the rotary dial, customers could make phone calls to whomever they wanted, whenever they wanted, without having to wait for an operator. The rotary dial telephone remained the worldwide standard until push button systems were introduced in the late 60s and 70s.

There is much debate over who invented the first electric washing machine at the turn of the 20th century, due to conflicting patents. At any rate, the 1930s witnessed this new home appliance quickly becoming the standard in every middle-class home. The Great Depression and World War II slowed production of the appliances, giving inventors more time to improve existing technology. By the late 40s and 50s, there were several manufacturers competing to create the best automatic washing machine that could be turned on and ignored. Names such as General Electric (GE) and Bendix dominated the market.

The world can thank England’s Hubert Cecil Booth for the invention of the electric vacuum cleaner in 1901. His first device was actually powered by an internal combustion engine, but it proved too bulky and unwieldy to be practical. After modifying his vacuum cleaner to use an electric motor, he was able to reduce both size and weight. Unfortunately, the British did not warm to the electric vacuum cleaner as quickly as America. Thanks to America’s adoption of Booth’s idea, the electric vacuum cleaner finally took off somewhere around 1913.

The domestic radio families used to gather around to listen to their favourite broadcasts dates back to the post-World War I era of the 1920s and early 30s. Unfortunately, no one knows who invented the technology. What became commercial radio broadcasting started as military broadcasting to aid communications among the Allies in the First World War. Companies such as Bakelite and Fisher began making domestic radios even as the pioneers of commercial broadcasting started going on the air in the late 1920s. Having said that, domestic radio gave birth to mass media all over the world.

Few people realise the telephone answering machine dates back to the 1930s. When this device was introduced, there was no need for it on a large scale because residential telephone service was still going through its own growing pains. Nonetheless, in 1960, Japanese inventor Dr Kazuo Hashimoto came up with the Ansafone – the first commercially successful telephone answering machine in the world. Hashimoto continued to develop new machines in successive years, eventually becoming the first patent holder for a digital electronic answering machine in 1983. Thanks to Dr Hashimoto, we never have to miss another call.

The hand-held remote control owes its birth to Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla, who patented his radio wave-based device in 1890. He was followed by Spanish engineer Leonardo Torres y Quevedo and his patented device in 1903. The work of both inventors eventually led to the infrared remote control we now use to operate everything from televisions to sound systems. Today’s remote controls are more likely to be based on infrared or Bluetooth technology, thanks to the work of companies such as ITT and Viewstar.

If you are old enough to remember the first commercially available microwave ovens, you may remember how frightened people were of potentially radioactive food. In reality, the microwave was not radioactive at all. It was simply a commercial application of radar technology used by the military during World War II. Tappan introduced the first commercial microwave in 1955, but its size and cost made it impractical. Amana came to the rescue in 1967 with a model that was ideal for home use. Over the years, the microwave has made the kitchen much more efficient and accessible.

Putting the power of the personal computer in the palm of the hand was the impetus behind the development of the PDA. Pison released the first commercial PDA with the Organizer in 1984. Apple and IBM followed closely behind with their own competing devices, setting up a technology war that would eventually lead to the development of the smartphone. As for the PDA, it introduced the idea of portable information to business executives, sales managers, political leaders, celebrities and even the average consumer on the street. If it were not for the PDA, we probably would not have the modern smartphone.

This is such a great list, how do we finish it? We chose to talk about the smartphone, which is actually a marriage between the PDA and the mobile phone. Even though hand-held computing and telephony were being combined in research laboratories in the 1970s, the first commercially available smartphone did not hit the market until the 1990s. When Symbian-powered devices from companies such as Qualcomm and Ericsson came onto the market, they changed everything. The smartphone is now easily one of the most important gadgets in the world.