ABSTRACT
The digital watch burst upon the marketplace in 1975. Hailed by one manufacturer as "probably the greatest breakthrough in timekeeping technology since the sundial", it displayed time with glowing numbers rather than hands moving around a marked clock face. The watches came in two basic models: the LED (light-emitting diode) in which the digits lit up at the press of a button or at the flick of the wrist, and the LCD (liquid crystal display), which provided a continuous display but to be seen clearly had to be angled toward the available light. The digital watch has continued to grow in popularity since its appearance on the market. Its price dropped to where inexpensive models sometimes sold for less than one dollar in the 1980s. Their continued ubiquitousness in American life seems assured for years to come.
