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94 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2022 Wearable electronics have been capturing much attention in the press, both technical and business, over the past few years. Articles for consumption by the public, as well as tech- nical research papers on the topic, have been increasing steadily in recent times. However, wearable electronics are far from new. More- over, the term "wearable" is quite fungible and encompasses a broad spectrum of prospective embodiments. e convenience and utility of The Fascinating History of Wearable Electronics Flexible Thinking by Joe Fjelstad, VERDANT ELECTRONICS wearable electronics was, based on evidence, first conceived and conceptually reduced to practice over a century ago. Early in the his- tory of electronics, the invention of the bi- telephone in-ear headphones were patented in 1891 by French electrical engineer Ernest Mercadier (Figure 1). Designed to be used by telephone operators, they even boasted perfo- rated nipples to block out external sounds and support the apparatus. 1