Before remote controls, people had to get up and turn a dial to change a TV channel.

Zenith Electronics introduced the first remote, called "Lazy Bone," in 1950.

It was not wireless, and people often tripped over its cord.

The first wireless remote, "Flash-Matic," came five years later.

It used light signals and looked like a gun.

Bright sunlight could make it change channels by mistake.

The next year, Zenith's "Space Command" used sound waves and made a clicking noise.

This gave remotes the nickname "clicker."

Infrared remotes arrived in the 1980s.

Cable TV made the device necessary at that time.

TV critic David Bianculli said losing a remote in couch cushions became as stressful as losing a phone today.

Remotes changed how networks planned their shows.

They wanted to stop viewers from switching channels.

Remotes also created the "surfer," a person who scans channels without a clear goal.

This forced networks to catch attention quickly.

Remotes have downsides, too.

They can make people more selfish, and they multiply out of control.

Batteries often die at bad moments.

Late Zenith scientist Eugene Polley called the remote "almost as important as sex."

He may have felt pride of ownership, though.