The Original Selfie Stick Was Years Before Its Time

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This article is part of our series on the 17 most unique things to have come out of Japan. Check out the other 16.

Those who scoffed at the idea might not mind owning the patent right now. And neither would the selfie stick’s original inventor. Hiroshi Ueda was working as an engineer for Minolta back in the ‘80s when he came up with what he named an ‘extender stick’, the idea for which was inspired by a theft. He and his wife asked a child to take their photo at Paris’s Louvre Museum. The child agreed, but, as soon as he got the camera into his hot little hands, bolted. Frustrated, Ueda invented a device that would allow him to take care of his photos himself and patented it in 1983. There was no commercial interest, however, so the patent ran out in 2003.

Fast-forward 30 years and you can’t move in a crowd for fear of being poked in the eye with a selfie stick. In fact, they’re becoming such a pain that numerous festivals and venues are banning them. They’re certainly not welcome at Coachella or Lollapalooza and, in March this year, London’s National Gallery gave them the old heave-ho. So if you were planning on capturing your beaming face in front of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, you’ll have to settle for a close-up.

Top image: Dollar Photo Club.