Weight gain in the American population 1960-2000

[bklyncowgirl]

90. My parents got their first remote control in the early '80s when they got cable TV

By that time high end TVs were coming out with them as a standard feature.

Most people got them through their cable providers. It was actually wired to the set--or rather the cable box--and you had to pay for it. Comcast had wireless models but they cost more.

When the cable companies began giving them away with out charge they became much more common.

Cable TV, Ah yes, here's another technological wonder to keep us in our recliners--cable TV. As Bruce Springsteen wrote a few years later "57 Channels and Nothing On." But with a remote you can keep on changing the channel until something catches your interest long enough to watch a commercial. The only reason to get up is to get beer, chips, soda and all the other snacky munchy food guaranteed to expand your waistline.