Life wasn’t always as convenient as it is now. Before the era of smartphones, computers, and automation, everyday tasks required time, patience, and plenty of hard work. From filing systems to manual labor, people relied on their determination and creativity to get things done. These old photos remind us of a time when every step of the process took longer. So, next time you’re frustrated by a slow internet connection, take a moment to appreciate how far we’ve come!
1. Using the card catalog at the library in the 1970s.
2. Humans vs. IBM 360 at NASA's Glenn Research Center in 1973.
3. Official FBI Fingerprint Database during WWII.
4. 4.5 megabytes of data in 62,500 punched cards, USA, 1955.
5. U.S. census tabulators calculating mortality rates, 1940.
6. Electric elevator desks in Prague, 1937.
7. Looking up information, quick and easy, 1970s.
8. NASA scientists doing their calculations.
9. Spectroscopy research at the National Bureau of Standards in 1948.
10. Census Bureau employees processing data using an early computer in 1939.
11. Hollerith Electric Tabulator from the 1908 Census Bureau.
12. Spool of magnetic tape - used for data storage on early model desktop computer, 1970s.
13. Barry Manilow, American singer and songwriter, working in the file room at CBS, 1965.
14. Rochester, New York: life line counselors sitting around a 'lazy Susan' information and reference file at the phone center. May 6, 1979.
