What Were Some of the Inventions Like in the 1930s?

Despite the Great Depression, the 1930s saw many inventions.

Defined politically by growing tensions in Asia and Europe and domestically by the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, the 1930s nonetheless saw a great deal of technological progress. Many inventions of the 1930s were refinements of earlier techniques and products; others, however, were completely new. From fission to frozen food, many inventions first demonstrated in the 1930s remain part of everyday life even today.

Color Entertainment

The 1930s saw a world coming alive, with the era of black and white silent films giving way to that of full-color films with synchronized audio. Technicolor finally perfected its three-color process in 1932, giving viewers vibrant, rich color movies with an aesthetic that is still emulated by directors. Color began to infiltrate still photography as well; Eastman Kodak introduced Kodachrome in 1935. Kodachrome, the first mass-market color film, would remain in production for more than 70 years before being finally discontinued in 2009.

Consumer goods

Consumer inventions of the 1930s prized ease of use and convenience, aiming to make the user's life just a little bit easier. Frozen foods invented by Clarence Birdseye debuted in June of 1930, allowing people to purchase fresh-tasting seafood, meat and vegetables even when they didn't live close enough to obtain the real deal. Synthetic materials like neoprene and nylon, invented by DuPont in 1930 and 1935 respectively, allowed for the creation of clothing and rubber products that were more versatile and cheaper than their natural competitors. Even the act of lighting a cigarette wasn't immune to manufacturers offering a simpler alternative: in 1932, defying the privation of the Great Depression, George Blaisdell invented the "Zippo" lighter.

Transportation and Telecommunication

Transportation inventions of the 1930s aimed to make earlier advances more refined and accessible; several types of long-range aircraft were invented in the 1930s, making intercontinental air travel a realistic possibility for the first time. New intercontinental telephones were invented, as well, along with routing systems that allowed truly long-distance communication; the first such example, a call from New York to New York via England, Indonesia, Holland and San Francisco, took place in 1935. Soon, consumers would be receiving more than just sound via long distance: the BBC began transmitting the first modern television service in 1936, and the 1939 "world of tomorrow" World's Fair in New York made television mainstream in the United States.

Science

Although scientific research in the 1930s extended work begun in the 1920s on ordinary things like penicillin and shortwave radio, scientific inventions of the 1930s focused on something much smaller: the atom. The discovery of the neutron in 1932 and the development of a theory for a nuclear "chain reaction" the following year sparked a flurry of scientific research into nuclear technology; nuclear fission was invented in 1938, laying the groundwork for nuclear weapons and power alike.

References

• Lone Star College: American Cultural History 1930-1939
• University of Virginia: 1930s Timeline
• Zippo: George G. Blaisdell