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		<title><![CDATA[io9: Couch Potatoes]]></title>
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			<title><![CDATA[TV Remotes Were Originally Invented to Zap Out Commercials]]></title>
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				Eugene F. McDonald, Jr., hated TV commercials. Television was a new medium in the late 1940s, with few shows and still fewer channels, but McDonald already felt it was being ruined by advertisers. Unlike the untold legions who have shared his opinion, then and now, McDonald was in a position to do something about it. He was the president of Zenith Electronics Corporation. McDonald ordered his engineers go to work on a device that would allow viewers to mute the damn things, thus making ads unprofitable and leading to their demise. Or so he hoped. 				<a href="http://io9.com/358729/tv-remotes-were-originally-invented-to-zap-out-commercials" title="Click here to read more about TV Remotes Were Originally Invented to Zap Out Commercials">More&nbsp;&raquo;</a>
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			<link><![CDATA[http://io9.com/358729/tv-remotes-were-originally-invented-to-zap-out-commercials]]></link>			<guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[io9-358729]]></guid>
			<category><![CDATA[retro futurism]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Clips]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[couch potatoes]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Remote Control]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Television]]></category>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:20:28 PST]]></pubDate>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lynn Peril]]></dc:creator>
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