Productivity and technology—Examples of innovations Recent innovations are increasing productivity. Go to the Timeline of Historic Inventions at www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_invention. Scroll down until you find the inventions made starting in the 1940s. Look at them and later inventions. Cite five technological "home runs" (for example, the transistor in 1947) and five technological "singles" (for example, the personal stereo in 1977). Which one innovation do you think has increased productivity the most? List two innovations since 1990. How might they have boosted productivity?