7 tech inventions we can’t believe people actually lived without

From GPS to microwaves to vacuums, we sure are glad someone had the ingenuity (and time) to think up these handy items.

8 / 8

computer mouse computer mouse (Photo: Africa Studio / Shutterstock)

8 / 8

Computer mouse

Back when a computer couldn't fit into your house, let alone the palm of your hand, you had to control it with hundreds of buttons and knobs. Luckily, a World War II veteran named Douglas C. Engelbart paved the way for what we now call the computer mouse. He first showed off his invention in 1968 at a computer conference in San Francisco, but it would take 20 more years before Apple would adopt the technology and ship its first computer-mouse combinations.


Photos and SlideshowsPhotos and Slideshows