FLEETDRIVE for Toshiba Corporation in Japan, Do Duc Cuong was personally offered a job at American bank Citibank by its CEO Walter Briston.
Though the ATM had already been invented in 1939, it wasn’ t widely used just yet. Bulky and heavy, these large machines were inconvenient to transport. Aside from its size, the first iteration of the ATM was pre-programmed by its respective bank with specific amounts to be used. Customers couldn’ t withdraw the amount of cash they needed. They couldn’ t just withdraw anywhere too. Back in the day, these machines weren’ t so easy to find. By the 1970s, there were only 1,500 ATMs worldwide, concentrated mostly in Japan and the West.
Do Duc Cuong, at his time in Citibank, managed to develop the ATM into a sleeker, faster machine. In 1997, the United States Patent and Trademark Office recognised his achievement as“ one of the most important innovations to
the design of the ATM.” He is listed as the coinventor of the ATM with John Shepherd-Barron and Donald Wetzel.
Piggy Banks- Indonesia
Though saving money is an age-old concept, archaeologists discovered that the beloved piggy bank goes all the way back to the 12th century. While Ancient Greeks saved their money in a temple-shaped container, the Javanese used a celengan, or piggy bank.
The word celengan also means boar in Javanese. Trading with Chinese merchants in the region prompted the Javanese settlers to store their copper coins in these slotted clay pigs. As for why the money bank is boar-shaped, BBC says it may be because of what the animal represents in Asia. In both East and Southeast Asia, the boar is seen as a symbol of prosperity because of its size and penchant for earth( mud).
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