While wars are discouraged and not necessarily the best road to travel, they are an option. And while they can be devastating for many, it can also be beneficial to more. In America, history shows that in times of war, we have been able to boost our economy as well as invent devices that become everyday household necessities. World War I saw innovations nobody dreamed of such as an automatic machine gun, World War II arguably brought us out of the Great Depression, and the Cold War brought about a new age of technology that would forever impact the world.

Many inventions designed for the Cold War became items for everyone. The microwave oven was designed by Percy Spencer in 1946 after microwaves melted a chocolate bar in his pocket. Francis Rogallo developed a hang glider in 1948 during the Cold War which we now use in recreation and sports, but was originally intended for military use. One of the more profound inventions was the integrated circuit created in 1958. This is also known as the “chip” and was patented by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments. The chip is used in a multitude of items ranging from the wristwatch to the Space Station. The First Communications Satellite was developed and launched in 1960 by NASA. It was actually a large Mylar balloon that bounced radio signals from one place to another, but through this innovative breakthrough, we now have satellites that allow us to call anywhere in the world and watch anything going on in other parts of it. Paul Baron developed a simple means of communicating through his ARPANET system that he was asked to develop in 1968. It was, in essence, an e-mailing system, but it bred the Internet, which today has over 15 million users. In the 1970s, NASA decided that because of the dangers the Space Station posed if the people inside were not warned of incoming dangers, a smoke detector was needed. Now, many homes are mandated to have one to warn unsuspecting families of a fire. Because of the satellites that were launched, a Global Positioning System was developed so that troops would know where they were. Now, many people's cars and phones have this feature.

The weapons aspect of the war also had an immense impact. Many people were often scared by what was being produced. However, there were also inventions produced that eased people's minds. ENIAC was a machine that was designed to calculate cannon trajectories and other calculations. It also helped with the nuclear and radiation experiments that were later conducted. The aforementioned integrated circuit was originally designed for the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. By installing the integrated circuit into the ICBM, it could go virtually anywhere in the world. Thus, it became, and still is, one of the deadliest weapons in the world. Many people became scared. To quell this fear, the government funded the Corona Spy Satellite. This satellite was launched under the veil of a scientific research satellite named “Discoverer.” The Corona satellite took video of the Soviet and their missile silos. This gave the U.S. a way to track them and let the public's mind ease.

While America was creating technology to counter Russia, Russia was innovating before America could counter. One of the most famous parts of the Cold War was the Space Race. Russia won the race to space, but America won the race to the moon. Russia launched the first satellite, Sputnik, in 1957. Later in the year, Sputnik II was launched with a dog that survived for ten days in space. In 1961, Russia made a great leap in the Space Race: Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. Other innovations and advances include a satellite that took the first pictures of the dark side of the moon, the first satellites to take pictures of Venus, and the first orbit around Earth.

The technology of the Cold War was both scary and awe-inspiring. The nuclear development could wipe out whole countries, and the unusable items became household appliances that people used to ease everyday life.