New Equipment Digest has been covering new products since 1936. That's 90 years of listings, from vibratory feeders and motor-generator welders to lube-free hoists and tool-free clamps.
This quiz pulls 10 product descriptions from NED's archives, spanning 1936 to 2026. Your job is to guess the year each one appeared. Some are trickier than they look. Plenty of decades-old equipment was surprisingly advanced, and some of today's products are built on designs that haven't changed in generations.
We've trimmed each listing and removed company names, addresses, and other dead giveaways, but every description keeps at least one clue for sharp-eyed readers. After each answer, see the product and find out what happened to the company behind it.
About the Author
Laura Davis
Editor-in-Chief, New Equipment Digest
Laura Davis is the editor in chief of New Equipment Digest (NED), a brand part of the Manufacturing Group at EndeavorB2B. NED covers all products, equipment, solutions, and technology related to the broad scope of manufacturing, from mops and buckets to robots and automation.
Laura has been a manufacturing product writer for nine years, knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the industry, along with what readers are looking for when wanting to learn about the latest products on the market.