Trivia question

[Dr Michael]

I was watching MAD MEN last night--it is based in the 60s. In the episode a woman turned off the TV (B & W) using a remote. I shouted--NO WAY! but cannot remember when they first came into common use--I think mid 70s. Anybody remember.

[ste860]

it was late 70s early 80s ,i remember my dad coming home with a remote control video player ,it still had a wire from the player to the remote ,but he never did figure out the timer settings

just googled it it was ivented in 1956 with a cable but infra red remote early 80s

[Terry]

There were certainly 'wired' remotes in the mid/late 60s

[ste860]

heres the answer
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inven ... otectl.htm

[STEVE G]

I remember that in the early eighties in the UK you could rent TV's from Granada that had basic ultrasonic remote controls. When I was a youngster in the Navy we used to rent them to use in mess rooms at shore stations. The thing was, the remotes would actually work through doors and it was a regular thing to annoy people by walking down a corridor and changing everyones TV channel, particulary at critical moments of soccer matches or in the final seconds of heavily betted horse races!