By Ananya Bhattacharya @CNNMoney July 28, 2015: 7:29 AM ET
1939: Like a human
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The first robot ever made was a steam powered pigeon created by Greek mathematician Archytas around 400 to 350 BCE. And then there was Lilliput, a 15-cm tall tin wind-up toy in Japan in 1932.
But by 1939, the robot was no longer a toy.
"I am a smart fellow as I have a very fine brain of 48 electrical relays," the 7-foot tall tin robot said, while introducing himself at the 1939 World's Fair in New York.
Elektro walked around stage, heard voice commands through a telephone, and smoked a cigarette on stage. Complete with the vices and sarcastic wit, he was as close to a human as could be at the time.
Today, you can see the oldest surviving American robot in the world on display at the Mansfield Memorial Museum.