HistoryAUG 25, 2020

30 Inventions That Betty White Is Older Than And It Helps Put Her Age Into Perspective

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Betty White is a legend in her own right. This sweetest little lady has not only won the hearts of virtually everyone for her uplifting personality, she has also earned a Guinness World Record for the longest TV career for a female entertainer.

The comic dynamo has been performing for more than 74 years in the entertainment industry, and it makes us wonder how come she is not a superhero!

Well, Betty was born on January 17, 1922, which makes her only two years away from celebrating her hundredth birthday. It means this almost centenarian actress is older than sliced bread, and color television, and… well, the list of important inventions is down below. And it really puts Betty’s legend into a historical perspective!

Image credits: Angela George

#1 Penicillin

Penicillin was discovered in 1928 by professor Alexander Fleming.

Solis Invicti

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80points

#2 Sliced Bread Was Intented In 1928

Sliced bread was invented in 1928. Otto Frederick Rohwedder created the Chillicothe Baking Company, which sold the first loaf that utilized Rohwedder's bread-slicing machine.

bark

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62points

#3 Color Television

June 25, 1951 was the day when CBS broadcast its first color TV show. Unfortunately, no one could tell because they all had black-and-white TV sets. The first program in color was called "Premiere."

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51points

Betty White, who has spanned more than 80 years in the entertainment industry, is regarded as one of the television pioneers. The famous actress is also known as the first woman to produce a sitcom, “Life With Elizabeth,” which led her to receive the honorary title Mayor Of Hollywood in 1955.

In 1939, just after graduating high school, Betty began her radio career, soon switching to television. Her career skyrocketed. But with WWII, she shelved her ambitions and joined the American Women's Voluntary Services. Of that era, she told Cleveland Magazine, "It was a strange time and out of balance with everything."

#4 Scotch Tape

1929 was the year when this life-saving tape was invented.

Mike Mozart

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51points

#5 Canned Beer

Although we've had canned beverages since 1813, mass production of them only started in 1935.

rusticusa

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47points

#6 The Electric Traffic Signal Was Created In 1923

After witnessing an accident between an automobile and a horse-drawn carriage, African American inventor, Garrett Morgan, filed a U.S. patent for a traffic signal. Patent] was granted on 20 November 1923 for Morgan's three-position traffic signal.

Mack Male

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45points

Betty was a regular on the game show circuit when she met her match in 1961, hosted by Allen Ludden. He became Betty’s third and last husband, and their stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame sit side by side to this day.

In Betty’s more than eight decades in the business, her trademark smile, gracious demeanor, and clever wit have made her a living legend.

#7 Frozen Food

Before 1929, frozen food was not a thing.

Rosana Prada

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43points

#8 Bubble Gum

In 1928, Walter E. Diemer, an accountant for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company in Philadelphia, was experimenting with new gum recipes. These experiments turned out to be successful.

Beatrice Murch

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39points

#9 The Slinky

In 1943, the mechanical engineer Richard James accidentally came up with the toy when he was trying to find a way of keeping products on ships undamaged.

Matthew M

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36points

#10 Nuclear Fission

The discovery of nuclear fission occurred in December 1938 by Lise Meitner, Otto Frisch, and Otto Hahn. Meitner and Frisch were physicists and Hahn was a nuclear chemist.

mzter

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36points

#11 1957: Birth Control Pill

Enovid, a drug the FDA approved for menstrual disorders, came with a warning: The mixture of synthetic progesterone and estrogen also prevents ovulation. Two years later, more than half a million American women were taking Enovid—and not all of them had cramps. In 1960, the FDA approved Enovid for use as the first oral contraceptive.

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36points

#12 Automatic Wrist Watches

Automatic wrist watches became a thing back in 1923.

Tony Alter

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33points

#13 Trampoline

The first modern trampoline was built by George Nissen and Larry Griswold in 1936. Nissen was a gymnastics and diving competitor and Griswold was a tumbler on the gymnastics team.

Charles Hutchins

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32points