Yet in some cases, these everyday products, from kitchen staples to office essentials, have been around a surprisingly short time.
Some have added flavour to our lives, others have speeded up daily tasks or made our roads safer.
In some cases, the technology took many years to develop, while other inventions were the result of a happy accident.
Below are nine everyday items we all take for granted today, but which didn’t exist before the 1950s.
What do you think was the greatest invention of the 50s or 60s, and why? And do you remember the days before any of these items existed?
7. Credit cards
The credit card as we know it has only been around since 1950. The first example was the Diners Club card, an idea businessman Frank McNamara came up with after forgetting his wallet at a restaurant. Within a year, the Diners Club had more than 40,000 members across the US, and by 1953, it was accepted in Canada, the UK and other countries. | Getty Images Photo: Carsten/Three Lions
8. Frozen pizzas
The very idea might seem like sacrilege to many Italians, but the frozen pizza is a great standby when you need a quick and easy meal. It's only been around since the 50s, and it's unclear who first came up with the idea. Some restaurants started selling frozen pizzas for customers to eat at home as the dish became more popular in the US, and more people had freezers. But it was Joseph Bucci, of Philadelphia, US, who filed the first official patent for frozen pizza in 1950. | Getty Images Photo: Orlando /Three Lions
9. Cordless electric drills
The electric drill has been around since the late 19th century, but the cordless drill, freeing up DIY enthusiasts around the globe, is a much more recent invention. It was initially developed by Black and Decker in 1961 for industrial uses, before being modified for space missions. But it wasn't until 1978 that Makita produced the first lightweight, reliable, and affordable cordless drill for use by the general public. | Getty Images Photo: John Franks