With the age of Chat GPT and AI upon us, we thought we would look back on some inventions that were groundbreaking.

Picture this: it is the 1950s, and computers are still big, clunky machines that take up entire rooms. And if you wanted to store data, you had to use punch cards or paper tape, which were about as reliable as a cat trying to catch a laser pointer.

But then, out of nowhere, comes a hero in the form of an IBM engineer named Rey Johnson. He’s on a mission to create a storage device that doesn’t need constant power to keep data safe. So he tinkers away in his lab, and finally, after months of hard work, he emerges victorious with… (drumroll please) … the hard disk!

Yes, folks, the hard disk was a game-changer. Suddenly, you could store up to five whole megabytes of data on a single device. That’s right, megabytes, not gigabytes or terabytes like we have today. But back then, five megabytes was a big deal. You could store 100,000 pages of text, more than anyone had ever dreamed of.

And the hard disk didn’t just change the game; it became the game. Everyone wanted one. It was like the hottest new tech gadget; before you knew it, the IBM 350 disk storage unit was the gold standard for all computer manufacturers.

Fast-forward to today, and we have hard disks that can store more data than you’ll ever need. Need to save all your cat pictures? No problem. Want to back up your entire life’s work? Easy-peasy. And it’s all thanks to the hard disk.

But let us not forget the quirks of early hard disk technology. Remember those 24-inch platters? Yeah, those things were massive. You could not precisely slip one into your pocket and take it on the go. And imagine the noise they made spinning around in those disk drives. It’s a wonder anyone could get any work done with all that racket.

Despite its quirks, the hard disk remains an essential component of almost every computer today. We rely on it to store our photos, documents, and all the other digital clutter accumulating in our lives. So, here’s to you, hard disk. You may not be the flashiest technology, but you are essential.