“(I grew up having to actually get up off the couch to change the channel...)”
I remember having a remote control tv older than I was, a 1950’s model Philips or Zenith model I think. It worked by sound wave signals when you pushed a button.
On occasion some noise from the kitchen would match the frequency and turn the channel unexpectedly. LOL
Huh.
Your family must have been a lot more wealthy than mine was...
LOL! I thought you were kidding me, but I found ‘ultrasonic remote controls’ (it’s funny that one of the first ones was called ‘Lazy Bones’!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_control#Television_remote_controls
We had nothing like that, just second-hand tvs, and when a tube burned out or something else went wrong, it would be months before we could afford to get the tv fixed again. It was always just getting up, changing channels, twisting around the rabbit ears, and constantly adjusting the vertical or horizontal :-)