The Celebrity Robot of 1938

The idea of robots is not new, but making one work is fairly recent. In 1938, we had no transistors and certainly no microchips, and digital communication was a far away dream. Cutting edge technology was when Westinghouse figured out how to send commands to electronic machines over telephone lines by coded pulses. Strangely, Westinghouse built that feature into demonstration robot bodies in the 1920s. But they were nothing compared to the humanoid robot that the company debuted in 1938 at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City.

Elektro the robot was a wonder to all who saw him. He was able to perform 26 human actions ("tricks") including walking, talking, counting, blowing up balloons, and smoking a cigarette. Elektro made quite a splash and was was taken out on the road after World War II to promote Westinghouse products. He was even in a movie in the '50s. You might wonder how a robot did all that without transistors or microchips. He wasn't a person inside a costume, but there was a lot of what we today might call mechanical shenanigans going on inside. However, even if all Elektro's abilities were explained to the audience at the World's Fair, they would still be impressed. Read how Elektro really worked at Today I Found Out.