When Chester Gould began Dick Tracy in 1931, it was an homage to Eliot Ness, during a time in which the good guys went after the bad guys, and their exploits were chronicled in the paper based newspapers and comic books. In 1946, Dick acquired a two way wrist radio, which later became the idea for a wrist phone that sent video back and forth. As a young boy, I was fascinated with the wrist communication device, and it sparked the later development of the SmartWatch, using tech developed for Smartphones. It also informed my lifelong interest in gadgets and computers, and was the principal driver of my pursuit of tech that could amplify my law practice. So, thank Chester Gould and his creation for what you are reading today.
"On January 13, 1946,[7] the two-Way Wrist Radio became one of the strip's most immediately recognizable icons, worn as a wristwatch by Tracy and members of the police force. This radio wristwatch inspired Martin Cooper's invention of the mobile phone, and may have inspired later smartwatches.[8] The two-Way Wrist Radio was upgraded to a two-Way Wrist TV in 1964.[9] This development also led to the introduction of an important supporting character, Diet Smith, an eccentric industrialist who financed the development of this equipment. In a conspicuous coincidence, the idea of a radio built into a wrist watch played an important role in the story line of "Superman – The Talking Cat" broadcast on the Mutual Broadcasting System on January 9 through 28, 1946 (episodes 878 through 891)."
So, the next time you take a call or text or email on your wrist, you can thank a comic book character. And Dick Tracy.
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