It's not a gadget or live-saving medical device, but the teleprompter (or TelePrompTer as it is officially named) is credited as being a game-changer technology in public oratory. Hubert J. "Hub" Schlafly invented the device in the 1950s when he was working as a TV engineer. He designed the TelePrompTer to help soap opera actors remember their lines. But the device quickly took off with politicians, and every U.S. president since Eisenhower -- with the exception of Nixon -- has used the device when addressing Congress or delivering the State of the Union address.

In teleprompter lore, President Bill Clinton, gets credit for having the most seamless teleprompter malfunction recovery. When he began giving his 1994 State of the Union Address, he realized the teleprompter had the wrong speech loaded. But Clinton carried on off-the-cuff and from memory

Source: ABC News