2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the invention of the laser. To mark the occasion, the American Physical society has launched LaserFest, which will involve a large number of public events over the next year. The website includes a bunch of cool things explaining the physics of lasers, and a timeline of laser history with one glaring bug that you'll have to figure out for yourself. Over at Cocktail Party Physics, Jennifer Ouellette has an excellent historical survey of her own, saving me a lot of typing.
(Fun fact: Gordon Gould, who eventually won a lengthy patent fight, was a Union alumnus, and donated money to the college to endow a chair held by one of my colleagues. For this reason, he's hailed locally as the inventor of the laser, though most of the rest of the physics community credits Townes and Schawlow. This is... awkward.)
The laser was famously dubbed "a solution in search of a problem" on its invention. In the last fifty years, laser scientists and engineers have found a whole host of problems that are solved by lasers. It really is one of the most essential technologies of modern society.
So, take a few minutes to celebrate the invention of laser. You might even check out the LaserFest site to see if there's something happening in your area.