Let us grab a coffee and take a quick trip back to the summer of 1943. We are in New Mexico, and a man named Edwin Land is enjoying a sunny day taking pictures of his family.
Now, Edwin was not just an ordinary guy taking ordinary pictures. He was a prolific inventor with a mind that simply operated on a completely different frequency.
To give you an idea of his brilliance, he had over 500 patents registered in the United States. Only Thomas Edison held more registrations than him.
During this relaxed family moment, his three-year-old daughter asked him a very simple, naive question. She looked at the camera and asked why she could not see the picture right away.
Most of us would just explain how film developing works and move on with our day. But that innocent question planted a massive seed in Edwin’s mind, and he went for a walk to think deeply about this specific problem.
According to his biography, during that single walk, he mentally projected the entire chemical and physical process needed to take a picture and see it instantly. He immediately detailed the concept to his lawyer, and they registered the idea of instant photography.
By 1948, Polaroid launched the Model 95 camera in Boston. The price was $89, and they had about 60 cameras ready for the launch.
They sold out entirely on the very first day. The market desperately wanted exactly what that three-year-old girl had asked for.
For decades to come, Polaroid would absolutely dominate the market they had created. By the 1970s, their cameras were a staple in almost every single American home.