Started in 1851, the expo events have left a lasting legacy over that last 150 years or more. Here are some of the highlights...
Fax machine & Victoria & Albert Museum: The Great Exhibition, held in London in 1851, is now seen as the first World Expo. Organised by a committee including Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, it attracted six million people. Innovations on display included a precursor to a fax machine. The event was so success the surplus was used to establish the Victoria & Albert, Science and Natural History Museums, which are still some of London’s best loved attractions to this day.
Ketchup, typewriter and Statue of Liberty: The first international exhibition was held in the US in 1876 to mark the 100th anniversary of American independence. Hugely popular, 186,272 people attending on the first day. Products unveiled for the first time include Heinz Ketchup, Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone, and the Remington Typographic Machine, otherwise known as the typewriter.
The right arm and torch of the Statue Of Liberty, which was a gift from France to the American people, was showcased at the event and was used as a platform to raise funds to complete construction of the statue, which is now one of America’s most recognisable iconic landmarks. Funds from the expo were used for the construction of the National Museum in Washington DC and the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building.
Phonograph: In 1878 American inventor Thomas Edison introduced the sound recording and production device at the Paris expo and it proved popular and brought music to masses for the first time.
Australia’s Royal Exhibition Building: In 1888 the event was held to celebrate 100 years of European settlement in Australia, its main legacy was the Royal Exhibition Building. The elegant Beaux-Arts style, is still a popular landmark today. It later hosted the opening of the first Parliament of Australia in 1901 and in 2004 it became the first building in Australia to be awarded World Heritage status.
Eiffel Tower: The Eiffel Tower was designed to act as the entrance to the 1889 fair. Named for its designer, Gustave Eiffel, the 312 metre tall tower cost the equivalent of $580,000 at the time and took over two years to build. Two million people visited the tower in the first year after it was built. Despite the fact that it had initially been granted planning permission for only 20 years, the tower stayed put, becoming one of the world’s best-loved landmarks. Today, almost seven million people pay to each to visit the tower every year, making it the world’s most visited paid-for monument. In total, some 250 million visitors from around the world have been to see the tower since it was built.
Zipper: The little device to help keep your trousers closed was designed by Whitcomb Judson and was unveiled to the public at the 1893 Chicago event. Allegedly, the investor got the idea when he saw friend struggling to tie his shoes and decided to come up with an easier alternative.
Electricity: Chicago’s 1893 expo was used to showcase advances in electricity and the General Electric Company, with Thomas Edison and J.P. Morgan, and other influential pioneers in the electricity movement used the event show American citizens it was a safe and reliable form of energy.
Hot Dog: When German sausage seller Anton Feuchtwanger ran out of gloves to give fair-goers to eat their sausages his brother-in-law came up with the idea of a sausage shaped bun to put the popular food into. The concept took off and the hot dog was born and unveiled at the 1904 St Louis expo.
Television: Scottish inventor John Logie Baird is credited with inventing the television set in the 1920s but it was until it was shown to Americans at the 1939 World Fair in New York did it take off and enter into the public imagination.
The Seattle Space Needle: The theme for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair was the future and it was decided to build a futuristic icon to rival the Eiffel Tower. The Space Needle was the result and it is now the city’s main landmark.
Disneyland: Many exhibitions and rides created by Walt Disney for the 1964 New York World's Fair were kept and moved to Disneyland after the event ended. Some of the rides include "It's a small world", "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln", and "Carousel of Progress" and are still in operation today. Disney’s involvement also led ot the development of its Epcot theme park in Florida
Ferris Wheel, escalators, talking films: Some 50 million visitors attended the 1900 World Expo in Paris, France, and marvelled at innovations such as escalators, diesel engines, Ferris wheels and talking films.
Olympics: The Paris 1900 event also led to the stating of a major event: the second Olympic Games. Four years later, the St Louis expo was the first time the games were held outside Europe. Chicago was originally meant to host but the event was moved to St Louis so the games wouldn’t be overshadowed by sporting events planned by expo organisers.
Ice-cream cones: The big hit of the 1904 Expo in St Louis was the humble edible ice-cream cone. Until then, ice-cream was served in metal or paper holders.
Panama Canal: The 1915 Expo in San Francisco, USA, celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal, and served as an opportunity for the city to showcase its recovery from the 1906 earthquake.
Mobile phones: The first mobile phones were exhibited at Expo 1970 in Japan, but the major attraction was a piece of rock in the American pavilion. Not any old piece of rock, though. This was lunar rock from the Apollo missions that took man to the moon for the first time the year before.
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