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Article created by: Ilona Baliūnaitė

Betty White is a legend in her own right. This sweetest little lady has not only won the hearts of virtually everyone for her uplifting personality, she has also earned a Guinness World Record for the longest TV career for a female entertainer.

The comic dynamo has been performing for more than 74 years in the entertainment industry, and it makes us wonder how come she is not a superhero!

Well, Betty was born on January 17, 1922, which makes her only two years away from celebrating her hundredth birthday. It means this almost centenarian actress is older than sliced bread, and color television, and… well, the list of important inventions is down below. And it really puts Betty’s legend into a historical perspective!

Image credits: Angela George
#1

Penicillin

Vintage penicillin medicine bottle and box displayed in a glass case illustrating inventions older than Betty White.

Penicillin was discovered in 1928 by professor Alexander Fleming.

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    #2

    Sliced Bread Was Intented In 1928

    Person spreading jam on bread, illustrating inventions Betty White is older than for age perspective.

    Sliced bread was invented in 1928. Otto Frederick Rohwedder created the Chillicothe Baking Company, which sold the first loaf that utilized Rohwedder's bread-slicing machine.

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    #3

    Color Television

    Vintage color television console showcasing early invention for putting Betty White's age into perspective.

    June 25, 1951 was the day when CBS broadcast its first color TV show. Unfortunately, no one could tell because they all had black-and-white TV sets. The first program in color was called "Premiere."

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    #4

    Scotch Tape

    Hand holding Scotch packaging tape roll, illustrating one of the inventions Betty White is older than.

    1929 was the year when this life-saving tape was invented.

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    #5

    Canned Beer

    Close-up of an opened aluminum can tab, an invention that Betty White is older than to show age perspective.

    Although we've had canned beverages since 1813, mass production of them only started in 1935.

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    #6

    The Electric Traffic Signal Was Created In 1923

    Traffic lights and pedestrian signals illuminated at night, illustrating inventions Betty White is older than for age perspective.

    After witnessing an accident between an automobile and a horse-drawn carriage, African American inventor, Garrett Morgan, filed a U.S. patent for a traffic signal. Patent] was granted on 20 November 1923 for Morgan's three-position traffic signal.

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    #7

    Frozen Food

    Frozen mixed fruits on a plate illustrating inventions that Betty White is older than for age perspective.

    Before 1929, frozen food was not a thing.

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    #8

    Bubble Gum

    Person blowing a large bubblegum bubble outdoors illustrating inventions that Betty White is older than for perspective.

    In 1928, Walter E. Diemer, an accountant for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company in Philadelphia, was experimenting with new gum recipes. These experiments turned out to be successful.

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    #9

    The Slinky

    Metal slinky toy stretched over a vintage brown suitcase, illustrating inventions Betty White is older than.

    In 1943, the mechanical engineer Richard James accidentally came up with the toy when he was trying to find a way of keeping products on ships undamaged.

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    #10

    Nuclear Fission

    Nuclear power plant cooling towers emitting steam, illustrating inventions Betty White is older than.

    The discovery of nuclear fission occurred in December 1938 by Lise Meitner, Otto Frisch, and Otto Hahn. Meitner and Frisch were physicists and Hahn was a nuclear chemist.

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    #11

    1957: Birth Control Pill

    Birth control pills in a weekly organizer, illustrating one of the inventions older than Betty White for age perspective.

    Enovid, a drug the FDA approved for menstrual disorders, came with a warning: The mixture of synthetic progesterone and estrogen also prevents ovulation. Two years later, more than half a million American women were taking Enovid—and not all of them had cramps. In 1960, the FDA approved Enovid for use as the first oral contraceptive.

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    #12

    Automatic Wrist Watches

    Close-up of a wristwatch on a person’s arm illustrating inventions that Betty White is older than in age perspective.

    Automatic wrist watches became a thing back in 1923.

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    #13

    Trampoline

    Girl jumping on a trampoline outdoors, highlighting inventions that Betty White is older than for age perspective.

    The first modern trampoline was built by George Nissen and Larry Griswold in 1936. Nissen was a gymnastics and diving competitor and Griswold was a tumbler on the gymnastics team.

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    #14

    LSD

    Abstract colorful spiral pattern with vibrant rainbow hues, illustrating 30 inventions that Betty White is older than for age perspective.

    LSD was first synthesized on November 16, 1938, by Dr. Albert Hoffman.

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    #15

    Jukeboxes

    Woman playing a vintage jukebox in a dimly lit room featuring retro Coca-Cola and 7up signs, highlighting inventions Betty White is older than.

    In 1927, Betty White was already five years old when the first jukebox that automatically shifted records was introduced to the public.

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    #16

    Barbie

    Vintage Barbie doll with blonde hair and red dress, representing inventions Betty White is older than for age perspective.

    In 1959, the world was introduced to Barbie.

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    #17

    Bean Bag Chair

    People working on laptops and devices while sitting on colorful bean bags at a casual tech event about inventions Betty White is older than.

    1969 was the year of Woodstock and when beanbag chairs became a thing.

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    #18

    The Ballpoint Pen Was Invented In 1924

    Close-up of a ballpoint pen tip representing inventions that Betty White is older than, highlighting her age perspective.

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    #19

    Notebooks With Spiral Bindings Were Invented In 1924

    Person in an orange shirt writing notes in a spiral notebook, illustrating inventions Betty White is older than.

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    #20

    M&m’s Candy Invented 1941

    Display of M&M’s candy in colorful packaging with red M&M character, illustrating inventions Betty White is older than.

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    #21

    Big Mac

    Close-up of a classic sesame seed hamburger in packaging, illustrating inventions Betty White is older than.

    The Big Mac wasn't introduced until 1967. McDonald's was originally a hot dog stand that only turned to burger-making in 1948.

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    #22

    Electric Razor

    Electric shaver featuring rotary blades as one of the inventions Betty White is older than for age perspective.

    Up until 1931, non-electric razors were not only a choice, but also the only possibility.

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    #23

    The Rubik's Cube – Invented 1974

    Person sitting on the floor holding a Rubik’s Cube and a yellow object, illustrating inventions Betty White is older than.

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    #24

    Instant Coffee

    Jar of instant coffee next to a glass of iced coffee illustrating inventions Betty White is older than.

    Coffee may have existed for centuries, but instant coffee has been here with us since 1938.

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    #25

    1982: Computer Virus

    Laptop with rainbow backlit keyboard displaying a black and white photo of an old invention for perspective on Betty White's age

    Fifteen-year-old Rich Skrenta created an application called Elk Cloner as a prank—and ended up creating the first virus to spread outside its home network. Elk Cloner spreads via floppy disk and attaches to the Apple OS II operating system. When users boot from the disk, Elk Cloner transfers the computer's memory; any additional disks inserted without rebooting are also infected. On every fiftieth boot, the computer displays text written by Skrenta:
    Elk Cloner: The program with a personality / It will get on all your disks / It will infiltrate your chips / Yes it's Cloner! / It will stick to you like glue / It will modify ram too / Send in the Cloner!

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    #26

    The Internet

    Magnified Google search page on a computer screen illustrating inventions Betty White is older than for age perspective.

    In the 1950s, first computers were created. By 1965, MIT released the first wide area network (WAN). Four years later, the first successful internet message was sent from UCLA to Stanford Research Institute. But it took a while for memes to become a thing.

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    #27

    Microwave Oven

    Open Toshiba microwave with a white plate inside, illustrating inventions Betty White is older than.

    In 1945, the heating effect of a high-power microwave beam was accidentally discovered by Percy Spencer. In 1947, Raytheon built the "Radarange," the first commercially available microwave oven.

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    #28

    1956: Hard Drive

    Hand holding an older model hard drive with laptops in the background showcasing inventions Betty White is older than.

    IBM released the first computer hard disk drive, the 2,000-pound-plus, refrigerator-sized IBM 305 RAMAC, which introduced magnetic disk storage. Up until then, files were either kept on spools of magnetic tape or on good old-fashioned paper, with no way to jump right to the record you wanted to pull up. With the RAMAC, a mechanical arm would retrieve data by storing data at a particular magnetic orientation. This technology went on to be used (at a smaller size) in laptops and computer servers everywhere.

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    #29

    Garages

    A car parked in a garage with an armchair and a filing cabinet, illustrating inventions older than Betty White.

    C.G. Johnson invented the electric garage door opener in 1926.

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    #30

    Garbage Disposal

    Close-up of a stainless steel sink drain with water flowing, illustrating inventions Betty White is older than.

    The garbage disposal unit was invented in 1927 by John W. Hammes, an architect working in Racine, Wisconsin. He applied for a patent in 1933 that was issued in 1935.

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