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From: toma@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Tom Almy)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: 'Antique' machine info sought...
Message-ID: <8103@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM>
Date: 13 Sep 90 21:23:10 GMT
References: <90253.024510KITBASH@MTUS5.BITNET> <142343@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> <39321@siemens.siemens.com> <4026@kitty.UUCP>
Reply-To: toma@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Tom Almy)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.
Lines: 16

In article <4026@kitty.UUCP> larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) writes:

>	Victor manufactured a rather classic product which predated the
>electronic calculator - a mechanical monster under the tradename of
>"Comptometer".  Similar mechanical calculators were manufactured by
>Monroe and Marchant (later part of SCM).  Running a decent division
>on one of the suckers was an impressive sight... :-)

An even *more* impressive sight was to run an *indecent* division
(division by zero) on one of these. I tried that in my father's office
when I was about 7 years old, and boy did I panic -- I finally had to
pull the plug. That was my introduction to modern computers!

Tom Almy
toma@tekgvs.labs.tek.com
Standard Disclaimers Apply