Compact Disc Facts: 11 Tidbits for the CD's 30th Birthday
Here at Spinner we have many CDs. We receive hundreds a month, and most of them end up in a big bin or on a shelf that we share with the lovely Moviefone staff. The rest get shipped off to who-knows-where. Now that the compact disc has turned 30 years old, we decided to delve into the history of this modern device and what mysteries they possess. We probably won't be seeing much of these shiny spinners in our near future, so let's celebrate these circle-shaped memory holders while they're still around. Below, you'll find 11 interesting facts about the compact disc paired with some truly bizarre '90s stock photos. Enjoy!
1. Sony and Phillips, the two companies who pioneered the original CD, agreed on the standard memory size. Urban lore has it that they chose the (at the time) 74-minute maximum length so Beethoven's "9th Symphony" could fit on one disc. [TechRepublic]
2. If you want to jam to that cassette tape your ex-girlfriend made for you sophomore year of high school, it's going to cost you. Featuring CD players in cars gained popularity in the early 2000s; 2010 is the last model year in which any car came factory-equipped with a cassette player. [NYTimes]
I think I see the data!
3. Techies of the early '80s geeked out over the first CD player available for sale, the Sony CDP-101. Released on October 1, 1982, this revolutionary machine could have been yours for a cool $900. (Remote included!) [Mixonic]
4. A compact disc may be less than 5 inches wide, but if the data track were unwound, it would stretch to over 3.5 miles long.
5. The potential was endless when it came to naming this newfangled technology.
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