Forty-five years ago, Joop Sinjou of Eindhoven developed the CD at Philips, in 1979. A larger team was involved, but Joop made the final decisions. They were in a hurry because the competition was hot on their heels. Final decision: how big should the hole in the CD be? Joop Sinjou, “I put a dime on the table and that became the size.” It was the fastest decision ever made at Philips.
The CD.
The DVD.
The Blu-ray.
They’re all Dutch inventions, all with a hole the size, and thickness, of the 1979 Dutch dime.
Brabant’s Joop Sinjou. Virtually unknown in the world. Much like Werner Vogels from Ermelo who invented “the cloud” for Amazon, Jaap Haartsen from Hardenberg who invented Bluetooth, or Cees Links from Maarssen who conjured up WiFi. Four Dutchmen who fundamentally changed, simplified and accelerated communication in America and the rest of the world.
When Joop died in 2015, his wake took place in a funeral home at Anthony Fokkerweg, named after the man who taught America to fly. The funeral service was in Nuenen, Vincent van Gogh’s town, in a church dedicated to St. Clemens, a name adopted by the Clemens family of Brabant before they emigrated to America and gave the world their grandson Samuel, aka Mark Twain.
Press that thingy on your laptop, or your drive, and a DVD player pops up. Whatever you want to put in there, it always fits. That’s because of Joop.
