Those young whipper snappers back in 1979 couldn’t hold a candle to this archaic computational device, the abacus. Gizmodo 600 BC, anyone?
Reader Robin says this little guy was hiding out in the drawer of a recent vintage purchase:
My wife, Deborah, recently bought a secretary style vintage desk from an estate seller. In one of the drawers along with some staples & glue was this little abacus. It’s about 2 x 4 inches. Thought you might enjoy seeing this – no clue of it’s history or age & I don’t see anything about it searching google.
Personally, I love the simple juxtaposition of the label. An abacus, one of the oldest counting tools on the planet, with a General Electric “Computer Department” label on the side? Classic Retromodo. [Thanks, Robin]
Kenneth Samson
Monday, July 20, 2009 at 11:29 PMsee ebay item 250456626268 – it’s an advertising piece from 1958.
Jim
Friday, January 1, 2010 at 2:12 PMI remember being given one of these in 1962 when I was in 5th grade at Fernbank Elementary in Atlanta Georgia. It came in a blue and clear plastic pouch accompanied by a plastic slide rule. I was just now thinking about how this little package helped stimulate my interest in math and science (now a patent lawyer with Aero Eng degree), when I decided to google for it and see what I could find – this gizmodo post.