23 Cool Tech Facts
In a world run by Internet connectivity for all aspects of life, from efficient work operations and management to social networking connections, it is no surprise that information is the foundation of our collective future. That being said, here are some quirky facts about technology that you may find surprising.
1. On eBay, there is an average of $680 worth of transactions every second.
2. Ninety-one percent of all adults have their mobile phone within arm's reach every hour of every day.
3. There are 6.8 billion people on the planet and 4 billion of them use a mobile phone. Only 3.5 billion of them use a toothbrush.
4. Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, as well as Apple have one not so obvious thing in common - they were all started in a garage.
5. Twenty-five percent of Americans use only a mobile device to use the Internet.
6. Every minute, 100 hours of video are uploaded on YouTube by individual users.
7. There are 271 million mobile subscribers within the United States alone, and numbers are quickly growing.
8. Two hundred and twenty million tons of old computers and other technology devices are trashed in the United States each year.
9. Ninety percent of text messages are read within three minutes of being delivered.
10. Thirty million individuals watch television programming from their mobile phones.
11. The average 21 year old has spent 5,000 hours playing video games, sent 250,000 emails, instant messages, and text messages, and has spent 10,000 hours on a mobile phone alone.
12. The first personal computer was created by Berkeley Enterprises. Affectionately referred to as Simon, it sold for a pricey $300 in 1950.
13. It has been 40 years since the world's first mobile phone call successfully took place.
14. On average, technology users carry 2.9 devices on them at all times.
15. There are 350 million Snapchat messages sent every day.
16. Since the company's inception, there have been 144.7 million individual visitors to Facebook, making it the most visited social networking site as of June 2013.
17. RadioShack was one of the first companies to start the personal computer revolution, back in 1970, with its TRS-80.
18. The first mouse was invented by Douglas Engelbart in 1963; it consisted of a hard wooden shell and two clunky metal wheels.
19. Of the 60 billion emails that are sent on a daily basis, 97 percent are considered spam.
20. The first cell phone sold in the United States - the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X - was designed by Rudy Krolopp in April of 1984. It weighed two pounds.
21. Google handles an estimated 1 billion search queries each and every day, releasing almost 200 tons of CO2 per day.
22. There are 500 apps added each day to the Windows Phone Store.
And most importantly...
23. The man known as the Father of Information Theory, Claude Shannon, invented the digital circuit - the foundation of the magic that provides us all access to the Internet today - during his master's degree program, when he was just 21 years old.
Any other cool tech facts?
Here's one we missed! Did you know that a study conducted by Infosurv found that advertisers can expect an improvement in recall rates for vanity 800 numbers vs. numeric phone numbers displayed in visual media and 9x higher recall rate in the case of audio ads (radio or podcasts).
Diana Zelikman is an editor at Fueled, the leading iPhone app builder in New York City, renowned for its award winning mobile design and strategy.
