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Surveillance and the history of 19th-century wearable tech
From jealous spouses to paranoid bosses, 19th-century pedometers quantified suspicion and reshaped the dynamics of surveillance.
According to a report in the October 7, 1879, Hartford Daily Courant, “A Boston wife softly attached a pedometer to her husband when, after supper, he started to ‘go down to the office and balance the books.’ On his return, fifteen miles of walking were recorded. According to the article, “The prohibitionist pair are trotting about nearly all day, while the tipplers (who had been given a daily diet of alcohol) were especially active at night.” For Hodge, the pedometer served as a watchful device that could track his canine subjects even when he was away. From professional oversight to social propriety, the pedometer served as a subtle but powerful mediator, quantifying life in ways that both reflected and challenged evolving norms of individual accountability and public transparency.
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