Everything I Love: The Remote Control

In the mid-1980s, in a white rage over a CRTC decision limiting Toronto to one PBS channel, my father canceled our cable subscription and took his maul to our external converter. Deprived of the remote control, and too lazy to walk six feet to change channels (and re-direct the aerial), my brother and I slid our chairs in front of our Sony Trinitron where we could slump back and channel surf with our toes. Neither of us can now distinguish between black and white, but we gained an enduring appreciation for one of the 20th century's most meaningful innovations. I fondly recalled those days when I read this week of the passing of Robert Adler, inventor of the television remote. Despite an Emmy Award for his contribution, Adler probably never realized how much he improved our lives since he didn't watch TV. The Parking Lot salutes Robert Adler as a labour-saving device pioneer.