WEBVTT - The GE Story, Part 3 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:02.880 Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:08.960 It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology? With 0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:17.640 tech stuff from how stuff looks dot com. Well, hello there, 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:19.959 and welcome to text stuff. My name is Chris Poulette 0:00:19.960 --> 0:00:22.400 and I am an editor at how stuff works dot com. 0:00:22.480 --> 0:00:25.360 And because we're recording a podcast, the person sitting across 0:00:25.400 --> 0:00:28.560 from me is senior writer Jonathan Strickland. There was no 0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:32.760 possibility of taking a walk that day. That was a 0:00:32.760 --> 0:00:35.760 really short quote. Yes, I you know when you can 0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:40.000 always tell when I'm pressed for time. It's the short quotes. Well. Originally, 0:00:40.080 --> 0:00:41.760 Chris and I when we were talking about doing this 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:44.159 series of podcasts, this being the third part on our 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:47.640 series on g E, we originally talked about doing two 0:00:47.680 --> 0:00:52.080 episodes in our two parts series exactly we're gonna do 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:54.040 parts one in parts two. But then as we looked 0:00:54.040 --> 0:00:56.920 at the history, and it is a long and storied 0:00:57.000 --> 0:01:00.160 history that we knew that we really couldn't it that 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:03.480 into two episodes unless we went super long, and we 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:05.959 try and reserve the super long episodes for things like 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:08.880 the four episode or talking to Brian Brushwood. So we 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:14.600 decided to something that Jonathan's vain pop out on this forehead. Yeah, 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:17.199 anything that makes me rant. So we wanted to try 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:19.560 and uh and keep it a little more manageable. So 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:23.000 this is part three, um, and we thought we would 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:27.200 start with a monumental event in the history of the 0:01:27.240 --> 0:01:30.280 United States and really in the world in general, or 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:33.200 actually not in the world in general. Yes, it was 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:38.200 out of this world nineteen sixty nine, the Lunar landing, which, 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:40.600 for the purposes of this podcast we are going to 0:01:40.640 --> 0:01:44.120 say actually happened on the Moon. Yes, it was not 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:47.880 a hoax, It was not done in some television studio. 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:53.640 It really did happen, people, and just just just go 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:56.040 with this. It did happen, because if you say it 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:59.040 didn't happen, there's a chance and astronaut is going to 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:02.040 show up in deck. You h you know, I'm not arguing. 0:02:02.480 --> 0:02:04.600 I'm not arguing either, but I mean you're you know, 0:02:05.040 --> 0:02:06.680 looking at me when you say that, I completely Well, 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:10.120 it's because you're across from me. That's so. Anyway, Yes, 0:02:10.160 --> 0:02:14.200 the lunar landing in nineteen sixty nine. So you've probably 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:19.320 seen the the iconic image of the footprint left behind 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:22.560 by Neil Armstrong on the service of the Moon. Yes, well, 0:02:22.720 --> 0:02:28.280 the company that made the material that created that boot 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:31.400 print silicone rubber. As it turns out that was g 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:34.840 e Ge created the silicone rubber that was used in 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:38.040 Neil Armstrong's boots as well as the other astronauts, so 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:43.200 that that bootprint is courtesy of GES technology. Yep. Oh. 0:02:43.240 --> 0:02:46.880 They also did a couple other things like quality control systems, 0:02:47.400 --> 0:02:52.360 U launch vehicle test facilities, ship to satellite communications for 0:02:52.480 --> 0:02:56.760 live color TV pictures of splashdown, and recovery systems, engineering support, 0:02:56.800 --> 0:02:59.799 just little stuff. Sure, but I'm talking about the boot Okay, 0:02:59.800 --> 0:03:04.720 I'm about that footprint, but no, that is that. It's 0:03:04.720 --> 0:03:06.480 really cool they did play that was one of the 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:09.920 companies that played a large part in getting people to 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:12.640 the Moon. Not the only one, obviously, there were many 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:16.359 other companies that all contributed to that effort, but g 0:03:16.639 --> 0:03:20.120 did make a significant contribution to the space race and 0:03:20.200 --> 0:03:23.240 it was pretty awesome to see that come together. And 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:26.440 if you guys have never watched any video footage of 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:29.480 the lunar landing, I highly recommend you check it out. 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:32.840 There's tons of it on the internet. Um. I like 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:37.720 watching the reactions of the news anchors when the linear 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:40.960 landing set down. Because you see these these these people 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:47.600 who have developed very very stately professional personas on the air, 0:03:48.000 --> 0:03:50.440 and you see them kind of you see that crack 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.800 just a bit as the enormity of this event hits 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:57.320 them in real time. It's phenomenal. That probably doesn't mean 0:03:57.320 --> 0:03:59.040 as much to you if you aren't familiar with their 0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:02.480 previous work, But for those who have seen footage of 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:08.160 these newscasters UH reporting all sorts of events, including major tragedies, 0:04:08.160 --> 0:04:10.560 and see them kind of break down a little bit 0:04:10.600 --> 0:04:12.600 when they see people land on the moon, it kind 0:04:12.600 --> 0:04:14.560 of gives you an idea of how big a deal 0:04:14.680 --> 0:04:16.920 this was. It's easier for us to forget now because 0:04:16.920 --> 0:04:20.719 we're so far removed from it, but it was enormous. 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:25.000 And also, I just anything that that shows that kind 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:28.839 of level of awe in in in human achievement, to 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:33.280 me is is really inspiring. So those are Jonathan's feelings 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:37.599 in a capsule. There you go. Nineteen seventy the GE 0:04:37.800 --> 0:04:40.160 sold one of its divisions. This is one of those 0:04:40.200 --> 0:04:43.520 few times where did divest itself of something. It's sold 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:48.080 a computer division to a company called Honeywell, we'll have 0:04:48.120 --> 0:04:50.120 to do an episode on Honeywell at some point too. 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:55.279 So nineteen seventy they sell this computer division to Honeywell, 0:04:55.320 --> 0:04:57.120 which is why g E is not really into the 0:04:57.160 --> 0:05:01.680 whole computer side of of the industry. Um. And in 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:05.680 nineteen seventy one they introduced something that is very again 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:08.320 really important to those of us in the South. Well, 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:11.240 it's especially cool. Yes, it is especially cool, especially when 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:13.359 you're on the go because it was it's also handy, 0:05:13.520 --> 0:05:17.320 the first sup portable air conditioner. Yes, they carry cool, Yes, 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:23.240 very cool. Yes, definitely. Anything where you can move an 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:27.080 air conditioner from room to room is awesome. Um. Yeah, 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:30.640 very important for those of us who live in warm climates. 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:34.440 And in when we were recording this, we had an 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:40.440 exceptionally mild winter. Mild is probably even going being generous. 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:42.479 It was warm to the point where we were hitting 0:05:42.800 --> 0:05:47.120 eighty degree temperatures in February, which makes us worry about 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:50.359 what the temperatures could be like and say May or 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:56.000 June or Heaven help us August. Um. Uh, we've we've 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:59.000 talked about the many businesses with which ge was involved. 0:05:59.040 --> 0:06:03.240 And in nine and seventy one also um, they worked 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:05.240 for the French company actually to pull this off, but 0:06:05.320 --> 0:06:09.520 the g E F one oh one engine UM became 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:12.840 the world's most successful aircraft engine uhich is very very 0:06:12.839 --> 0:06:17.039 popular machine. UM and you know, just another one of 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:21.120 the transportation businesses that they were involved in. There will 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:23.120 be actually some some new ones that we haven't talked 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:26.040 about in previous pot well, something we touched on in 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:30.720 previous podcasts, but not the same way. Also, the the 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:35.720 second of the scientists at the GE laboratories um dr. 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:43.880 How would you pronounce his name, Ivar Giver THEE. This 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:48.120 last name is spelled g I A E v e R. Now, 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:50.159 the funny thing about this is he won this award 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:53.200 in ninety three, the Nobel and Physics UH for something 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:56.320 he did in six He discovered super conductive tunneling. And 0:06:56.320 --> 0:06:58.839 we've talked about that in previous podcasts several times. So 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:01.120 if you want to know what's for conductive tunneling is 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:04.280 this is one of those weird quantum effects that that 0:07:04.600 --> 0:07:09.120 is perplexing and can also be very irritating to computer engineers, 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:13.280 as the design chips. Super Conductive tunneling is that that 0:07:14.000 --> 0:07:18.040 tendency for sub atomic particles to pass through barriers as 0:07:18.040 --> 0:07:21.640 if the barrier is not there. Uh. And in general, 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:24.840 this has to do with the probability of a particle 0:07:24.920 --> 0:07:29.239 being within a certain area. As the particle approaches a 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:32.880 a a barrier, there is a probability that the particle 0:07:32.920 --> 0:07:35.440 will be on the other side of that barrier. And 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:37.920 as long as there's a probability, that means that there 0:07:38.040 --> 0:07:40.840 is going to be, at least in some instances, a 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:43.840 case where the subatomic particle will be on the other 0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:46.440 side that barrier as if it passed through it. Now, 0:07:46.440 --> 0:07:49.480 there is no actual tunnel left behind that. It's not 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:51.520 like there's a hole made through the barrier. It's just 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:54.440 that there's a point where the subotomic particle is on 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:58.240 one side and then it's on the other. And that's crazy, 0:07:58.480 --> 0:08:01.480 but it's also quantum. I should also point out that, 0:08:01.520 --> 0:08:04.040 you know, we were talking about nineteen three back in 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:07.800 seventy two, just really briefly, uh. Fred J. Borch retired 0:08:07.880 --> 0:08:12.440 in seventy two and Reginald H. Jones became chairman and CEO. Okay, 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:15.680 so Borch was the chairman and CEO. Yeah, he was 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:18.480 president and CEO, and then sixty seven he became the 0:08:18.560 --> 0:08:21.200 chairman and CEO, and then seventy two, he retires and 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:24.800 Reginald H. Jones becomes the chairman and CEO. Okay, just 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:28.920 since you know, in case you were just tuning in, yes, yes, yes, 0:08:28.960 --> 0:08:33.280 because that wasn't the last podcast, so it was like yes, 0:08:33.400 --> 0:08:35.320 so for you guys, it was a week ago. We're sorry. 0:08:36.120 --> 0:08:38.040 So seventy eight is the next date I have? Do 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:42.120 you have anything between seventy yes? I do. UM. Now 0:08:42.280 --> 0:08:46.640 we UH. We've talked about in previous podcast gees interest 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:50.160 in medical fields actually from from a pretty early time 0:08:50.200 --> 0:08:54.200 in its corporate history. The company was involved with different 0:08:54.200 --> 0:09:00.400 medical technologies UM, electronic medical technologies, and we also talked 0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:03.760 about a super conductive magnet UH that they created. Well, 0:09:03.800 --> 0:09:06.800 this is where we're starting to get into the heavy 0:09:06.840 --> 0:09:12.000 duty UM high end high tech scanners. UH. Seventy six 0:09:12.240 --> 0:09:18.760 is when they created a computed tomography scanner scanner UM. 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:21.920 And this is a time when GEES units have worked together. 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:24.800 There's a group at the research and Development center and 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:28.160 and also at the Medical Systems division can do cross 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:32.000 section X rays in five seconds. UM greatly speeds up 0:09:32.679 --> 0:09:36.240 medical diagnoses. So that is a pretty and nifty technology. 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:39.160 And also UM something else that was sort of curious back, 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:43.520 dating back to our first podcast on GE, is when 0:09:43.559 --> 0:09:48.520 the company chose to acknowledge its hundred the anniversary. It's 0:09:48.559 --> 0:09:53.559 centennial and uh in what year seventy six? I thought, 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:59.560 I'm sure it was I had Okay, I'm sorry, Well 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:02.600 that yeah, I do too. Sorry I had looked down 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:04.840 at the wrong thing. But that's um, yeah, it is 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:09.320 coming up because, uh, eighteen seventy six is when Thomas 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:14.480 Edison opened his laboratory. Um. But the Edison General Electric Company, 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:17.360 which is one of the two companies that that went 0:10:17.440 --> 0:10:20.720 in to create General Electric, was founded in eighteen ninety. Yeah, 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:23.640 eighteen seventy eight was when he founded the Edison Electric 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:27.520 Light Company, which I guess is what GE identifies as 0:10:27.559 --> 0:10:30.880 being the seed that it grew out of. Um. Yeah, 0:10:30.920 --> 0:10:33.640 because sorry about my date incorrection. Oh no, no, no, 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:36.520 it just made me think that maybe because again, we 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:38.719 we look at different Chris and I both do our 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:42.280 research independently, so once in a while, especially for something 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:44.440 as complex as a corporate history, you can come up 0:10:44.480 --> 0:10:48.400 with some conflicts in dates. But in this case, it is, Uh, 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:50.720 nineteen seventy eight was when they were saying they were 0:10:50.720 --> 0:10:53.200 a hundred years old and apparently, I would say it's 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:56.160 the Electric Light Company that they're looking at, not the 0:10:56.200 --> 0:11:00.840 electric company, hey you guys, but the Electric Light company 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:05.040 that that was the basis for their one years. They 0:11:05.080 --> 0:11:08.640 counted from that point, even though the Edison General Electric 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:12.800 Company didn't start until eighteen ninety and the General Electric 0:11:12.840 --> 0:11:16.760 Company itself didn't that merger didn't happen until what was 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:20.360 it like ninety six, eight ninety six, something like that. Um, 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:25.800 I was even after that, well after after Yeah. So anyway, 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:30.079 you've got this whole uh, it's you've got this whole 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:35.560 uh centennial problem here. When do you trace your history back? 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:39.720 And yeah, same thing with IBM, where they have a 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:42.079 date that is slightly different than the date when the 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:45.880 company was actually incorporated. But yeah, they celebrate their their 0:11:46.000 --> 0:11:48.600 uh their centennial. This goes all the way back to 0:11:48.640 --> 0:11:51.000 the days at Menlo Park, New Jersey, which is now 0:11:51.040 --> 0:11:55.959 called New Jersey. Uh. It's where Thomas Alva Edison had 0:11:56.160 --> 0:12:00.240 his own research lab. And uh. That year they also 0:12:00.320 --> 0:12:03.520 introduced a new kind of a couple of new products, 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:08.520 including a new type of technology about helping you wake up. Yes, 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:13.520 the first programmable digital clock radio. That's a great way 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:19.120 to celebrate a hundred years. It's been blinking twelve since then. 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:23.120 Um no, yeah, So that was one of the two 0:12:23.320 --> 0:12:25.120 products I had for that year, the other one being 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:28.760 an over the range microwave oven. Oh well, yeah, the 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:30.600 space Maker. But they also came out with the FP 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:34.600 one and FP two food processors. What you're really handy 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:36.559 if you need to chop up a whole bunch of 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:40.880 veggies in a hurry. Um. Yeah. One of the things 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:44.000 that that we've talked about repeatedly on the other two 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:48.120 podcasts is GES diversity and its businesses. Now, of course 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:51.520 they're all um, revolving around things you can do with energy, 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:56.800 um and uh and in ways to add to them. Uh. 0:12:56.960 --> 0:12:59.520 So you know, you've got your big stuff. You've got 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:03.960 dynam mos and and uh nuclear power plants things to 0:13:04.000 --> 0:13:08.800 generate electricity. You've got uh jet engines and other transportations 0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:11.480 stuff that uses energy to get you from place to place. 0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:15.119 And you've also got small appliances and and other appliances 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:17.720 larger appliances that people using their home to take advantage 0:13:17.720 --> 0:13:21.560 of energy. So there the idea of one of the 0:13:21.559 --> 0:13:24.839 things that you identified early on was its desire to 0:13:24.840 --> 0:13:28.520 come up with a whole range of stuff hot range, um, 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:30.880 that that people could use to make their lives better. 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:34.720 And um, so we are are are not teasing them 0:13:34.720 --> 0:13:37.440 about the digital clock, radio or food processors, but you 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:39.400 know it just it really does show that the breadth 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:42.719 of stuff that they are doing. Um. Also, in seventy eight, 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:47.040 they got eight hundred sixty five patents awarded to them 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:50.240 in the United States. They were the first organization to 0:13:50.360 --> 0:13:54.560 get fifty thousand United States patents. That number is gonna 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:56.439 go up, by the way. We'll have We'll have more 0:13:56.480 --> 0:13:59.680 on that number as we go on. It's pretty crazy 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:02.000 when you look at the number of patents that were 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:06.959 awarded to GE over its history. Um, the next year 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:08.720 I have is eighty one. Do you have anything between 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:11.839 seventy eight one? No, I don't and eighty one was 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:16.040 sort of talk about crazy. Yeah, yeah, so well you 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:19.440 had you had the the the chairman CEO retired. Jones 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:22.680 retired and John elf Welch John F. Welch became the 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:26.880 new chairman and CEO Jay Jack. Yeah we're in a 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:29.680 first name basis being Jack. Yeah, I'm not. Mr Welch 0:14:29.880 --> 0:14:35.280 became chairman and CEO. GE developed a method to create 0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:38.440 fiber optics strands. They would actually create these, uh, these 0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:43.240 ingots and would pull strands of material from them that 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:45.800 would create fiber optic lines. This, this is what I 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:49.520 think is crazy. Yeah. Three ft the the uh they 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:52.560 courts ingots. We're talking about our three ft long that's 0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:56.760 about a meter, and they can be stretched into fiber 0:14:56.800 --> 0:15:02.160 optics strands twenty five miles in length. Yeah, so it 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:07.400 goes from you know, I mean a miles what five feet? Yeah, 0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:13.120 give or take nothing, nothing, So that's exactly yes. So 0:15:13.200 --> 0:15:15.400 I mean that's you know, to put it in perspect 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:16.920 I was trying to put in respect because I didn't 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:20.080 do the metric translation for the but yeah, that's that's 0:15:20.120 --> 0:15:24.600 a long stretch. So just multiply by one point six. 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:30.320 Uh yeah, so yeah, that's that's pretty impressive. Uh. Then 0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:33.960 and I've got three. They developed the signa magnetic resonance 0:15:33.960 --> 0:15:36.520 imaging system, which is also known as the m r I, 0:15:37.600 --> 0:15:40.360 which X rays are really good for looking at things 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:43.800 like bones. Yes, they're looking good at looking at hard tissue, 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:47.280 but not so good at looking at soft tissue. You know, 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:49.840 it doesn't show up very well on an X ray. 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:53.600 So if you're looking for something that could be a 0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:57.960 problem beyond just something that's affecting hard tissue. An X 0:15:58.040 --> 0:16:00.720 ray is not your best choice. The R I which 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:04.280 which is a technology that was born out of this UH, 0:16:04.640 --> 0:16:07.560 this work that General Electric had been doing with magnets 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:13.240 for several decades. UH allowed doctors to look at soft 0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:16.040 tissue in a way that they could not before without 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:19.520 doing like exploratory surgery. So this is a non invasive 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:23.240 way to get a look at what is going on 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:26.760 within a person's body. And UH, and you know, the 0:16:26.800 --> 0:16:29.880 early m R I s were less sophisticated. It took 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.520 a lot longer to take a full image. We've talked 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:34.800 about m r s and another episode of tech Stuff, 0:16:35.280 --> 0:16:39.080 but UM, this was this was really a revolution in 0:16:39.160 --> 0:16:45.120 the medical imaging field. UM and UH and we we 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:48.800 talked about in a previous episode how the two companies 0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:52.120 that went into creating GE that merged to create g E. 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:56.680 We're actually dueling it out for a very large electrical 0:16:56.680 --> 0:17:00.640 project back before everybody had electric lights in their homes. UM. 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:06.040 The Chicago World straight at the Columbian Exposition. Um, well, 0:17:06.160 --> 0:17:10.880 they were chosen in in to participate in another major 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:15.359 electrical public electrical project they were lighting up a Lady 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:19.840 yes yes, um, and this would be Lady Liberty, the 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:23.080 Statue of Liberty um given to the United States by 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:25.000 the French a long time ago. Well, they were they 0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:28.800 were redoing the the Statue of Liberty. They were trying 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:33.040 to um uh clean it up, renovated, and they redid 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:36.040 the lighting from scratch. As a matter of fact, um 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:39.040 a GE person named Gilbert Riling came up with a 0:17:39.080 --> 0:17:43.919 completely new metal halide lamp specifically for this project. And 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:48.840 um the g E Research Labs and and Howard Branston, yeah, 0:17:49.080 --> 0:17:51.480 came up with the lighting scheme for the statue and 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:56.880 its torch. So um they were instrumental in helping redo 0:17:56.960 --> 0:18:02.240 the lighting for the for the statue. Also, in fifty 0:18:02.400 --> 0:18:06.280 six years after the United States government told GE that 0:18:06.320 --> 0:18:08.720 it had to get rid of our c A, g 0:18:08.920 --> 0:18:12.920 E took over our ci A again. So they reacquired 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:16.480 r c A the Radio Corporation of America UH in 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:19.760 nineteen eighty six, and also as part of that deal 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:25.840 acquired in BC, so g E once more has has 0:18:26.000 --> 0:18:29.720 controlling interest in both r C and NBC. Now then 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:33.000 g E turns around and sells that interest in our 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:37.240 CI A to a partner company called Bertlesman and r c. A. 0:18:37.320 --> 0:18:41.680 Then changes names it becomes b MG Music. Yes, b 0:18:42.280 --> 0:18:46.159 is a German publisher. Yeah, and was again partnered with 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:50.040 General Electric. So yes, now you've got BMG Music and NBC. 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:55.439 NBC still falling under the guidance of General Electric also 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:59.879 would eventually UM become part of a partnership between the 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:05.159 Electric and the company Comcast. Uh. This, by the way, 0:19:05.480 --> 0:19:09.479 forms the basis of many, many, many jokes found in 0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:13.359 the television series thirty Rock. So in thirty Rock you 0:19:13.400 --> 0:19:17.320 have Baldwin's character who is a corporate one, Alec Baldwin's character, 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:21.080 and it wasn't Stephen Baldwin. Uh. Alec Baldwin's character is 0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:25.879 a corporate executive with General Electric UM, and he is 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:30.159 put in charge of many things, including some of the 0:19:30.240 --> 0:19:35.840 programming at NBC, which involves the show that that UM 0:19:36.600 --> 0:19:40.840 Liz Lemon works on. So he he talks about how 0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:44.800 he helped introduce some very innovative products and GEES past, 0:19:44.880 --> 0:19:48.000 including some crazy microwaves and things of that nature, which 0:19:48.080 --> 0:19:53.480 again poke fun at gees history with home electronics and appliances. UM. 0:19:53.640 --> 0:19:56.480 So if you always wondered where those jokes came from, Well, 0:19:56.480 --> 0:20:01.160 it's because General Electric owns NBC. And then in more 0:20:01.240 --> 0:20:05.680 recent episodes, they've talked about a cable company called cable 0:20:05.720 --> 0:20:10.919 Town taking over more and more of the responsibilities of 0:20:11.000 --> 0:20:16.520 producing the show. Uh. And and Jack Donneghie, the Baldwin character, 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:21.359 has now become executive with cable Town. Huh. That's the 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:25.119 whole reference to g and Comcast rending a partnership together 0:20:25.200 --> 0:20:28.880 and overseeing in BC. So just giving you that background 0:20:28.880 --> 0:20:32.840 so that you can understand why those jokes are funny, okay. Uh. 0:20:32.880 --> 0:20:35.640 And in nineteen nine, they actually launched the Consumer News 0:20:35.720 --> 0:20:40.440 and Business Channel or c NBC CNBC. It's a twenty 0:20:40.480 --> 0:20:43.440 four hour news channel. It's sort of a competitor to CNN. 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:45.640 I was gonna say, they will never make that work. 0:20:46.680 --> 0:20:51.200 Um Uh. Simplicity which spelled with a C, which is 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:58.000 a computer system that basically tracks how auto automotive bodies 0:20:58.000 --> 0:21:02.119 are traveling through uh, the manufacturing process, so they know 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:05.600 where parts are headed and where everything is going and 0:21:05.600 --> 0:21:08.280 where it's been. So they have a good idea and 0:21:08.320 --> 0:21:12.080 that's been adopted by a lot of the automotive industry today. Yeah. 0:21:12.080 --> 0:21:15.600 It's an administrative software which really helps you know what's 0:21:15.640 --> 0:21:18.960 going on at any given time during your whole process. 0:21:18.960 --> 0:21:22.520 You can look at the supply chain even and say, well, 0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:24.920 you know, we're gonna need to address this because it's 0:21:24.920 --> 0:21:26.919 gonna become a problem if we don't take care of 0:21:26.960 --> 0:21:29.399 it at this point. So it's it's very useful. Again, 0:21:29.560 --> 0:21:32.760 one of those things about improving efficiency, so not terribly 0:21:32.800 --> 0:21:37.119 exciting to necessarily a consumer, but it does ultimately affect 0:21:37.119 --> 0:21:40.000 the consumer because by improving efficiency you can do things 0:21:40.000 --> 0:21:44.159 like takedown, you know, keep prices low. So it's it 0:21:44.240 --> 0:21:46.280 does end up affecting us in the long run. It's 0:21:46.320 --> 0:21:49.600 just when at first clients you're like, well that's okay, 0:21:49.680 --> 0:21:52.639 but I don't see what it's important to me. And 0:21:52.640 --> 0:21:55.479 then ninety two the Mars Observer rolled out. That was 0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:59.400 the first newspaper on Mars. It was very effective. Um 0:21:59.480 --> 0:22:02.679 it's we yard because it came out in ninety two 0:22:02.760 --> 0:22:08.119 and the only comic strip it's running is Marmaduke. Uh No, 0:22:08.320 --> 0:22:10.760 this was actually because I had m A r in 0:22:10.800 --> 0:22:15.760 the names satellite that studies Martian geology and climate and 0:22:15.880 --> 0:22:18.520 maps the planets. So it's a satellite. It's not actually 0:22:18.520 --> 0:22:21.360 a newspaper. I enjoyed the joke though. Um. And then 0:22:21.359 --> 0:22:25.119 in ninety three, the GE Medical Systems in the R 0:22:25.160 --> 0:22:28.440 and D Center again went in on creating a magnetic 0:22:28.520 --> 0:22:32.800 resonance therapy system. Also in ninety three, g E sold 0:22:32.880 --> 0:22:37.119 off the GE Aerospace division to marry at A. Martin, 0:22:37.200 --> 0:22:40.879 which would later become Blockheed Martin. Yep. So this is 0:22:40.920 --> 0:22:43.480 another one of those instances where g did divest itself 0:22:43.560 --> 0:22:46.920 of part of its business, not didn't do so that frequently, 0:22:47.480 --> 0:22:50.680 just once in a while. So um, yeah, it's not 0:22:50.680 --> 0:22:53.719 not one of those habitual let's purchase everything every company 0:22:53.760 --> 0:22:56.160 we can see and then sell off stuff that doesn't work, 0:22:56.760 --> 0:23:00.280 that doesn't that's that doesn't tend to be GAS approach. Yeah, 0:23:00.320 --> 0:23:03.280 but it's not. It also doesn't herald the end of 0:23:03.520 --> 0:23:08.359 GES involvement in transportation as we's. Um, I'm gonna let 0:23:08.400 --> 0:23:10.560 you take lead on this because you took much more 0:23:10.680 --> 0:23:12.920 detailed notes and during this era. Whereas this is the 0:23:12.920 --> 0:23:15.880 part where I started to uh, sorry to to check 0:23:15.920 --> 0:23:20.120 my Facebook status, this is the part that's really exciting. Okay, 0:23:20.840 --> 0:23:25.439 g E Plastics. First, you can tell I went to 0:23:25.480 --> 0:23:28.520 g dot com to get my information g Plastics was 0:23:28.560 --> 0:23:32.959 the first UM part of the company, which made it 0:23:33.280 --> 0:23:36.399 the first Fortune five hundred company to go online and 0:23:36.440 --> 0:23:39.199 had its own website, first Fortune company that was not 0:23:39.280 --> 0:23:43.600 a computer company, right the way, we need to be specific, sonny, 0:23:43.720 --> 0:23:46.000 how they admitted that party. She didn't have to be 0:23:46.040 --> 0:23:49.399 really careful here. Yeah, g was one of the first 0:23:49.480 --> 0:23:53.919 Fortune companies to have a web presence, that first Fortune 0:23:53.920 --> 0:23:57.520 five companies that didn't already deals exclusively with either computers 0:23:57.600 --> 0:24:01.040 or networks. So they were a non computer, non network 0:24:01.119 --> 0:24:03.480 company that had a website and that was that was 0:24:03.520 --> 0:24:06.920 kind of a big deal. Now granted, back in really 0:24:06.960 --> 0:24:08.840 all they had was a looping midi and an under 0:24:08.880 --> 0:24:12.760 construction gift, but that's not true, but yeah, it was. 0:24:12.840 --> 0:24:15.120 It was. Of course, it was much more static than 0:24:15.720 --> 0:24:19.719 than future websites would be. But in just two more years, 0:24:20.440 --> 0:24:23.280 GE the company would launch its own website which would 0:24:23.280 --> 0:24:26.800 become uh kind of a hub for lots and lots 0:24:26.800 --> 0:24:30.680 and lots of different businesses. Also, they launched another project, 0:24:30.720 --> 0:24:35.400