Inventions & Breakthroughs of October 2011
Gadgets, lab surprises, odd bets, and future-shocks from this slice of the calendar.
1 
Voice Assistant (Siri)
2 
Cloud Storage Consumer Services
3 
Electric Vehicle Supercharging
4 
Mobile Payment Systems
5 
Social Messaging Apps
6 
Genome Sequencing Cost Reduction
7 
Digital News Aggregation
8 
Autonomous Vehicle Research Program
9 
Smart Home Automation Platforms
10 
Medical Robotic Surgery Expansion
The Sounds of
Popular recordings and roots/country selections associated with the year
HEADLINES ON October 29, 2011
Full News Archive
- Headline: Consumers' Savings Rate Takes Unexpected Dive. Impact: The decline in savings led to a nationwide trend of impulse buying that eventually resulted in the invention of credit cards. Thank you, 1980s mall culture! Who needs savings when you can have a shiny new jacket on credit?. Fact: In 2020, the average American saved about 15% of their income. That’s a fun fact—unless you’re still trying to figure out where your paycheck went last month..
- Headline: Florida's Gambling Debate with Disney. Impact: This battle between casino cash and Disney's image sparked a secret coalition of cartoon characters who banded together to fight for better representation in gambling ads. Imagine Mickey Mouse on a poker table!. Fact: Disney once bought a small piece of land in Florida to build a theme park, which naturally turned into a vast empire. Their next project? The Happiest Casino on Earth!.
- Headline: Sports Medicine Said to Overuse M.R.I.’s. Impact: The overuse of MRIs led to a new trend in sports medicine where athletes began referring to themselves as 'human MRI machines.' This resulted in a spike in superhero-themed medical practices.. Fact: Did you know the first MRI scan was performed in 1977? Before that, athletes just relied on good ol' superstition and the occasional prayer for healing..
Wall Street Time Machine
The Right Call: If you'd invested $1,000 in any one of these companies in 2011, here's what the stored 2025 dataset estimates.
Rank #1
NVDA
NVIDIA
Price in 2011
$0.36
2025 dataset value
$480,243
NVIDIA - If you invested $1,000 in 2011, it would be worth $480,243 today (480.2x return)
🦸 Top 5 Comics
Detective Comics #1
$1,500,000
Action Comics #1
$8,000
Ultimate Fallout #4
$1,500
Batman #1
$2,220,000
Justice League #1
$750
🧸 Top 5 Toys
LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu
$20.00
Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
$200.00
Monster High Dolls
$150.00
LeapPad Explorer
$50.00
Beyblade: Metal Fusion
$150.00
🎮 Top 5 Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
$200.00
Portal 2
$30.00
Dark Souls
$200.00
Batman: Arkham City
$16.00
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
$200.00
⚾ Top 5 Trading Cards
2011 Topps Update Mike Trout #US175
$2,000
2011 Panini National Treasures Cam Newton RPA #328
$3,000
2011 Bowman Chrome Bryce Harper Autograph #BCP111
$9,716
2011 Panini Gold Standard Kobe Bryant #24
$1,500
2011 Magic: The Gathering - New Phyrexia's Karn Liberated
$250