21 February 1947: Edwin Land shows off instant photography

Edwin Land demonstrated a camera that produced a finished print in about a minute at a meeting of the Optical Society of America in New York. Polaroid instant cameras went on sale the next year and became a sensation. For decades Polaroid was a glamour stock. Then digital photography arrived and the company filed for bankruptcy in 2001. Instant gratification, it turned out, could get even more instant.

The lesson: A breakthrough product can create a great company and still be overtaken by the next breakthrough.