Evolution of Ordering

We’ve come a long way since ordering a product meant having to chisel what you wanted into a rock then toss it into the neighboring cave. Below is a brief history of how humans through time have ordered the products they needed.

Carrier pigeon

As one of the earliest ways to send messages over a long distance, Pigeon Post was one of the first services people used to order products. (Gourmet mutton was in vogue, and not something one could find at the corner store.) Though widely regarded as successful in delivering messages and lightweight mail, Pigeon Post did have a difficult time when people ordered larger, heavier packages.

Telegraph

The Electric Telegraph was the first technology to employ electricity to communicate over long distances. Though orders were received almost instantaneously, people found that there was difficulty in sending the packages to the purchaser through the telegraph machine. Many telegraphs were destroyed during attempted deliveries of penny-farthing bicycles and customized snuff boxes.

Mail

The Mail Service is widely regarded as the first truly successful way to both order and receive products. Though both the order and the package itself had a high success rate in getting to their destination, some people found filling out the order forms to be quite tedious.

Phone

Mail delivery seemed to be one part of the solution, but ordering still required multiple steps. Thankfully, ordering products over the phone eliminated the need to find a pen or pencil to fill out the order form and address the envelope, which many people celebrated.

Computer

Today, the computer is the fastest, easiest way to place product orders. Customers can choose which products they need and check out with just the click of a button, and their order is received immediately. What a time to be alive!

(in the future....)

Telepathy

Someday in the future, mankind will no longer need to muck about on the Internet or push buttons to find what we need. One day, we will only need to think of the products we want, and our flying cars and pill-based vitamin meals will appear on our doorstep.