The universal remote control is nothing new, as shown by this photograph from 50 years ago, in the November-December 1969 issue of Elementary Electronics. The accompanying article dealt with some of the finer points of operating a public address system, such as dealing with hum and feedback. Sometimes, the remedy for feedback was just shutting off the offending speaker. This ceiling speaker in a hotel banquet room had a convenient on-off switch, and this hotel maintenance man is shown shutting it off with what those in the industry called a “skyhook.”

Today, remote controls are typically electronic rather than mechanical, but there are some jobs where having a long stick is what you need. For those jobs, having a golf ball retriever or a painter’s pole can quickly save the day, and you can order them from Amazon. They are telescoping for easy storage, and once you get one, you won’t know what you did without it. In addition to being useful for extending your reach, they can be used for applications such as supporting an antenna or being a tent pole.