Why Is Eugene Polley Important

People all over the world, of all ages and race, have many commonalities that unite them together to be called, as a whole, the human race. One thing most everyone on earth has access to is a television and the item that accompanies every TV when purchased from a store is the wonderful wireless remote to operate it. This powerful accessory is a vital key to any person’s entertainment experience. The world can thank Eugene Polley for this extreme advancement in television accessibility, which may as well be one of the most important inventions ever made. Polley told an interviewer in 2002: “The flush toilet may have been the most civilized invention ever devised, but the remote control is the next most important. It’s almost as important as
Growing up in Chicago may have been thought of as appealing but Polley had many problems with the family he was born into. His mother, Vera Wachowski, was shunned by her family because her husband, Polley’s father, was a lazy and irresponsible bootlegger [2]. This made it difficult for Polley’s family to function adequately. After about 10 years of Polley’s life, things took a turn for the worst when his mother and father separated. His father not only separated from his mother but he abandoned both Polley and his mother [2]. Polley’s mother struggled to support both herself and her son [2]. The family of two survived and eventually Polley attended the City Colleges of Chicago and the Amour Institute of Technology
Today it’s not a luxury, it’s not a convenience- it is a necessity” [2]. Taylor is not exaggerating. When a consumer ventures to the store to buy a TV, the one thing, besides a power-cable, that is always included in the box is a wireless remote. When someone can’t find their remote to the TV, panic strikes and they feels as if the world is going to end. Society has developed a dependence on the wireless TV remote to control their TV not only because it’s functional, but because it’s convenient. If someone invents something that allows for further convenience and accessibility, consumers are eager to buy it. Polley invented the wireless remote, and for convenience it is in the hands of millions of Americans at this very