I was struck by this news item from yesterday. I vividly recall one day when my Dad brought home one of the very first Polaroid 'Instant' cameras. It was a relatively large folding camera where the lens appeared as the unit unfolded. It must have weighed almost two pounds. That had to be in the early to mid-1950s.
The film came in a box and I recall that you got eight pictures per box at a cost approaching about $4.00 per box. That was a high price in the mid-50s.
The camera took only black and white pictures. You had to grasp the film tab after snapping the shutter, and pull it evenly through a set of rollers thus squeezing the 'developer' solution over the exposed film.
The packet was self-contained when it emerged and had to rest outside the camera for a minute or two to permit the developing process to be completed. You then peeled the film packet apart and the picture emerged. The picture then had to be coated with something in a tube that smelled like paint thinner. This applied a coat of a plastic-like substance that sealed the picture and permitted it to be mounted in an album or frame.
So, in the span of less than six decades, a new discovery has appeared and disappeared. At its peak, Polaroid employed 15,000 people. It quit producing new cameras a few years ago.
The pace of mankind's knowledge expansion is almost frightening. I've read in several journals that man's knowledge doubles every five or six years. I am particularly troubled by that since mine is not keeping up, or at least I don't think it is keeping up. This points up the fact that we can never quit learning. This also helps me better understand why my grandkids are so much smarter than me :>)
