Puzzle Description:

This was my first calculator although it was yellow not green.

#1: Brian Bellis (mootpoint) on Feb 4, 2019

This is in response to Joe's puzzle #32036

My father tried to teach me how to use his, but I wasn't quite ready for it at the time. Never did learn.

I never got to learn how to use a slide rule, but for a while I was pretty good on the old abacus.

Also, when I painted backdrops, a triangular architect's rule was mighty handy. I think we generally did 1/4":1' (between sketch and fabric)

Never did get very good with one of these.

It's interesting to look at a slide rule to see the relationships between numbers. The spaces between them increase exponentially. My sister gave my son an old-fashioned slide rule because she thought he might be just geeky enough to appreciate it. He wasn't.

I've never used a slide rule either. I wish I had.

I learned some basic operations from my father-in-law. I have a couple of his and one of my father's - which I think is ivory. My father never taught me to use his, probably because home calculators became available when I was young. I got a TI-1200* from my godfather when I was about 9 - and boy did I not appreciate how much of a gift that was. It was worth $60 in today's prices. I used it mostly as a light source under the covers after bedtime. (Enter 88888888 for maximum brightness.) After it got old and the glue got weak, I found an extra button under the faceplate. The one empty space actually had a +/- button hidden under it.



*TI-1200: http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_334488

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