An idea for a possible typewriter predecessor was patented by Englishman Henry Mill, but he never succeeded in perfecting his invention and it died with him. Nothing more than the patent record remains known about the machine. It was British patent number 385, granted “by the grace of Queen Anne.” The patent's title was: An artificial machine or method for the impressing or transcribing of letters singly or progressively one after another, as in writing, whereby all writing whatever may be engrossed in paper or parchment so neat and exact as not to be distinguished from print.

A New York Times article on food included the news that a frozen turkey dinner from C.A. Swanson & Sons of Omaha was soon to be available in the newspaper’s home area for about $1. This was the first frozen meal of the “TV Dinner” type that was successfully sold across the U.S. An aluminium foil tray with a foil overwrap was filled with white and dark turkey slices, cornbread sage dressing and gravy, plus two separate segments contained green peas and mashed sweet potatoes with butter. Each 12-Oz dinner needed only about 25 minutes in a hot oven to be ready to eat from the disposable foil tray (no plate needed). Six months later, having had great response to the turkey meal, Swanson introduced a “TV Fried Chicken Dinner,” reported in the Times on 10 Jun 1954. “TV Dinner” was the Swanson brand.