Modern-Day Tech You Might Be Surprised To Learn Existed In The 1960s

June 29, 2026 - 12:38

The 1960s are often remembered for flower power and the moon landing, but the decade was also a quiet revolution in personal technology. Many gadgets and concepts we treat as modern inventions actually took their first breath during this era, often in bulkier, less glamorous forms.

Take the computer mouse. While it feels like a 1980s or 90s staple, the first prototype was built in 1964 by Douglas Engelbart. It was a wooden shell with two metal wheels, and it didn't become mainstream for another two decades. Similarly, the idea of a graphical user interface with windows and icons was demonstrated in 1968 during the "Mother of All Demos." That same event showed the first video conferencing, hypertext links, and collaborative document editing.

In your pocket, the smartphone's ancestor was the DynaTAC concept, but the true precursor was the touchscreen. The first finger-driven touchscreen was developed at the Royal Radar Establishment in the UK in 1965. It was used for air traffic control, not for tapping out texts.

Even the internet has roots in the 1960s. ARPANET, the network that became the internet, sent its first message in 1969. It was a simple "LOGIN" that crashed after the first two letters. And the computer mouse you use? It was patented in 1967. The decade also gave us the first video game, "Spacewar!" in 1962, and the first email system in 1965, which allowed users to send messages to each other on the same mainframe.

So next time you swipe a screen or click a link, remember the 1960s. It was a decade of bold ideas that took decades to become the everyday tech we now take for granted.