8 60’s Batman Gadgets That Are Now Real [List]

Batman (1966) – Batman (Adam West), Robin (Burt Ward)

Batman had some ridiculously funny gadgets back in the 60’s but, amazingly, some came true!

The Batman TV show aired on
ABC from January 12, 1966 to March 14, 1968. You probably know it
starred Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. Even though it came
out decades ago, for some reason, it’s only being released on DVD and Blu-Ray this year.  It’s been a long time coming and I can’t wait to see the “Bat-usi” in high definition! To celebrate, here is some amazing Batman equipment
that we have today.

1. Batmobile Bat-phone

Batman (1966) – Batman (Adam West), Robin (Burt Ward)

Batman had a portable phone in his car! Cell phones are common today
and phones in cars were common in 1966. In fact, by 1964, there were 1.5 million mobile phone users
in the United States. But, they were insanely expensive at about $1,100
per month. That’s $8,000 in today’s money. Bruce Wayne was a baller. It
wasn’t until 1973 that Motorola made the first portable phone. It
weighed 2.4 lbs (1.1 kg) and measured 9″ (23 cm) long, 5″ (13 cm) deep
and 2″ (4.45 cm) wide. Today, everyone has a phone in their car. And
their hand. And it’s relatively cheap too. Holy bank balance!

2. Seat Belts

Batman (1966) – Batman (Adam West), Robin (Burt Ward)

Before roaring off in the Batmobile, Batman and Robin always fastened
their seat belts. This seems like a pretty common sense thing to do
nowadays but, back in 1966, seat belts were less common. Some car
manufacturers like Ford and Saab offered seat belts as an option in the 50’s and 60’s, but it wasn’t until 1970 that the first seat belt law came into effect and that was in Australia.
New York was the first state in the U.S. to make not using seat
belts a punishable fine in 1984. Even then, seat belt use was at a measly 14%.

It took decades for the rest of us to catch up to Batman’s seat belt use. Holy safety Batman!

3. “Robin, Pass Me My Shark Repellent Bat Spray!”

Batman: The Movie (1966) – Batman (Adam West), Robin (Burt Ward)

In the Batman movie, Batman
gets rid of an attacking shark with his Bat Shark repellent. It’s most
often mentioned when people talk about how ridiculous his utility belt
is. Well, the military didn’t think it was so silly during World War II.
They spent a fortune researching it but none were very effective. So,
in the 1960s, it must have seemed like science fiction. But the field
of shark repellent took off since the Cold War of the 1980s and after a
series of highly publicized shark attacks in 2001.

Today, there are
lots of repellents for sale. From ones that smell like dead sharks, to
ones that send chemical warning signals. There are also ways to repel
sharks using visual, acoustic and electrical stimulants. So, next time you’re in the water don’t forget to pack your shark repellent. Holy sardines!

4. “We Prepared Ourselves Beforehand with Anti-Penguin-Gas Pills.” 

Batman (1966) – Batman (Adam West), Robin (Burt Ward)

In the episode “Batman Makes the Scenes” the Penguin tries to use knock
out gas on Batman and Robin. But it doesn’t work thanks to Batman’s
handy pills. There’s no such thing as “Penguin gas,” but there are
other more supervillainy gases. Nerve gas was used a lot during the
Gulf War and the military issued anti-nerve gas agent pills, or pyridostigmine bromide, to the soldiers to counteract the efffects. Holy gas attack Batman!

5. “Sir, All Your Other Cowls Are in the Home Dry Bat-cleaning Plant”

Batman (1966) – Alfred (Alan Napier), Batman (Adam West), Robin (Burt Ward)

In the episode “The Contaminated Cowl” Mad Hatter sprays Batman’s cowl
with a radioactive spray. Alfred tells him the rest of his cowls are
being dry cleaned in the back, so he has to keep wearing it. An in-home
dry cleaner must have made him look like a billionaire. But, today we
can get a home dry cleaning kit like Dryel. Holy stain fighter Batman!”

6. “It Looks Like a Note Written in an Ancient Tongue Circa 3,000 B.C.”

Batman (1966) – Batman (Adam West), Robin (Burt Ward)

In “King Tut’s Coup” Batman got a note from the villain King Tut
written in an ancient language.  He headed back to his Bat cave and
fired up his “Electronic Translator,” put the note inside and the
machine translated it for him. Today we have all kinds of translators.

Head to Google translate and you can decipher any one of dozens of
different languages. They even have an app that will translate words
and text between 80 different languages. In fact, there’s even a website
that will translate to and from English to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Holy hieroglyphics Batman!

7. “To the Batcomputer Robin!”

Batman (1966) – Batman (Adam West), Robin (Burt Ward)

The Batcomputer was first introduced in the comics in 1964, but made
it’s first onscreen appearance on the 1966 show. It was massive and
could do anything, but it was a home computer. In 1967, Hewlett-Packard
released the HP 2115 general purpose computer. 
It had 4K memory and cost about $14,000. It wasn’t until 1982 when the
Commodore 64 was the first computer to sell over one million units.

Today computers are in every home and fit in the palm of your hand.
Holy memory bank!

8. Bat-key

Batman (1966) – Batman (Adam West), Robin (Burt Ward)

 The Bat-Key is a literal key to the city. It was given to Batman and
can open any door in Gotham City.  That shows how much they trust the
Caped Crusader. Today they have snap guns
(also known as lock pick guns, pick guns, or electric lock picks) that
can be used to force open a typical tumbler lock without using the key.
So, it’s basically a key that can open any lock. Holy Key Ring!

Which Batman gadget do you use most often today? Were there any surprises in the list? What Batman gadgets did I miss? Can you think of any funny captions for the pictures?

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