Polaroid

The brand name of a point-and-shoot camera that uses a self-developing instant film to rapidly produce a photographic print. Instant film includes chemicals that begin working while the film is being ejected from the camera, and the picture is fully developed within minutes. A commercially available instant-print process (called the “Polaroid-Land” process) was first developed in 1947 by Edwin H. Land, who was supposedly inspired by a question from his three-year-old daughter while on a family vacation: “Why can’t I see the picture now?” Polaroids gained widespread popularity in the 1970s, but their usage was eventually impacted by the development of digital camera technologies, which also satisfied the urge to instantly see one’s photographs.