Also the 1960 extension cord for plugging in your cigarette would have been ridiculous

You mean, a product was invented, but it threatened a major industry, so it was shelved? I know there was a very functional electric car about 20ish years ago. They were leased out, and then customers weren't allowed to keep them after whatever time frame. Then they were all crushed. We will never know the amazing things that could be if mega companies would allow it

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I’m picturing something you sit in, like one of those big dome hair dryers.

They mention this in the book “Barbarians at The Gate”. It has less to do with protecting the tobacco industry and more to do with the product development being over budget and the product itself being shit. It was actually developed by RJR / Phillip Morris.

Idiots. Vape is so much more addicting.

Another good book along these lines is “The Devil’s Playbook” by Lauren Etter which covers the rise of Juul and its ultimate acquisition by Altria/Phillip Morris. Great read.

I think you're speaking of this: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a32944084/tested-1997-general-motors-ev1-proves-to-be-the-start-of-something-big/

How functional was the battery life? Ms made tablets earlier than Apple but they had short battery lives and weighed like bricks

Thanks for the flash-back.

I read that book during daily commuting circa the mid nineties and remember loving it. And in the early days of the internet I remember looking for a picture of the product mentioned in that chapter and that I never found any.

edit: Also Anecdotally , years later I read Golden Holocaust from a kindle and it was a terrifically interesting "history of , the evolution of, the business of" smoking.

I think people really don't understand how shit technology was in the 60's.

The cost to make e-cigarettes was probably far more than the cost to just make old fashioned cigarettes.

Also there was this: >Inhaling the extract, however, was downright dangerous. Battelle’s monthly report from September 1963 stressed that “reactions were so violent and throat irritation was so strong that smoking could not be carried out under regular conditions.

and this: >This lack of commercial viability certainly had to do with the remaining shortcomings of the device described by Hughes.

Long story short. The technology sucked.

On a related note, The very first electric car to be made was made in 1832. So the technology is close to 200 years old at this point.

Yep, that is how "market forces" work. Technology is never "natural". There's always some interest at play, and you're not a part of it.

people always think that profit will encourage progress.

more often than not, profit stumps progress.

They were probably using like 50% nicotine extract because they hadn't thought to dilute it down to around 1% like we do now.

I mean everything you said is true, but also, pretty much the only reason you can buy either of these now is because a company became successful enough to be a 'mega company.' I agree with your criticism of a bloated capitalism stifling innovation, but it doesn't help to include every large company with no differentiation when it is possible for them to cultivate and drive innovation.

And also, as we all know, a total lack of reward/extrinsic motivation is the best way to encourage progress.

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Man look up what batteries looked like in the 60s and tell me this product would have been viable. Look up 70s batteries too before you say "well the tech would have evolved".

That's a weird way of saying a product isn't viable.

Agreed. Not all companies are created equal. I really do hate lumping things into a convenient little box. My statement was more general, but thankfully, there are exceptions.

Those things are so cool

the latest data suggest that e cigs are just as toxic and life taking as reg. cigs. I knew a narciss. PD who smoked an e cig. I asked him for the scientific stats which showed e-cigs were safer than reg. cigs. He got angry, as predicted.

It's fun to tweek the NPD around here. It's predictable as night following day. and they are oblivious to it.

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You can see that in any "scientists discover" thread where the main complaint and argument against any further research is how expensive it would be.

.....And look what they look like today after, you know, the tech has evolved.

Always a pattern of corruption if you noticed. Electric and water powered cars are made to disappear by the oil companies. Or how suspicious products are passed by the FDA and within a matter of a few years, the same people on the FDA panels, are suddenly employed by the pharma companies that wanted their shit FDA approved.

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Not saying e cigs are any better.

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Just like a lot of other things the big company throws money to make it go away

They could’ve saved George Harrison

If they were sold and innovated on since the 60's, they would be super advanced by now I bet

The obituaries would be hilarious

The first simplest transistors were invented, which is basically a tiny voltage driven electric switch, but they weren't that small, considering today the smallest of integrated circuit chips, can contain millions of transistors ! They were however smaller than vacuum tubes, hence the first portable transistor radio. uniac and ENIAC were the first mainframe IBM computers, that ran on both tubes and solid state components, yet filled up an entire room !.... And about a tenth as powerful as a Commodore 64 !

so yeah..... Technology was stone age back in the 60s.

Jump to the latest cell phone smart phone..... A super computer 🖥️ comparatively speaking !