Ancient "toy computer"

From: Glen Goodwin <acme_ent_at_bellsouth.net>
Date: Tue Dec 18 23:18:41 2001

Okay, in order to pose this question I have to come clean here and admit my
age:

Right around 1960 or '61 (I was five or six years old at the time) I was
given a toy computer. I suppose it was meant to represent a mainframe
(what else could it have been, given the era?) and there was a rectangular
(4 x 8? 5 X 7?) array of blinkenlights on the front of it. There was also
a tray in the front which accepted a small punched card. A set of these
cards came with the toy. Each card had a multiple-choice question printed
on it, as well as four answers to choose from, numbered A through D.
Additional card sets could be purchased separately.

When a card was placed into the tray and the tray was then closed, the
blinkenlights would display a "random" pattern for a couple of seconds
(always the same pattern) and then the array would display the correct
answer to the printed question, A B C or D. It didn't take long for me to
be able to read the holes in the cards, and I even "modified" a couple of
them so that the toy displayed an incorrect answer.

Does *anyone* remember this thing? It must have cost a few bucks back
then. What was it called?

Glen
0/0
Received on Tue Dec 18 2001 - 23:18:41 GMT