Results based on a survey that asked consumers which products have
improved their lives most. SOURCE: Predatory Marketing: What Everyone in Business Needs to Know to
Win Today's Consumer, by C. Britt Beemer (William Morrow, 1997)
Microwave oven
77.3
Universal remote control (TV/VCR)
66.6
Garage-door opener
64.6
Home telephone answering machine
61.7
Ear thermometer
59.5
Breath analyzer
59.2
Programmable home thermostat
58.3
Call-waiting telephone service
56.4
Automatic payroll/government check deposit
55.1
Supermarket price scanner
55.0
TECHNOLOGIES AMERICANS APPRECIATE MOST
In 1945, Raytheon Manufacturing began experimenting with an offshoot of World
War II, the Magnetron. While standing by the working contraption - which created
short radio waves - Percy Spencer noted that a candy bar in his pocket melted.
Soon after, Spencer began to contemplate the domestic uses of the machine. Ten years
later, the "radar range" became available.
Source: World of Invention, by Gale Research
