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New Ideas from the Inventors
Popular Science Magazine ^ | January 1961 | Anonymous

Posted on 03/12/2025 12:42:43 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom

Straight from the "What will they think of next?" archive in January 1961...


(Excerpt) Read more at books.google.com ...


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: autodial; inventor
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Sometimes inventors hit the mark, other times they miss.

I like the way the boss in the background is keeping a close eye on Miss Smith using the latest tech!

I remember my Opa's big console TV around 1960. It had a remote control of the channels! It was an electro-mechanical gizmo that had a motor on the tuning knob. When he pushed a button on the remote for a new TV station, the motor on the TV turned the station tuning knob. Ka-chunk, ka-chunk, ka-chunk. You waited for the know to finish turning. Then you had to rotate the rooftop antenna to the best position using another remote!

1 posted on 03/12/2025 12:42:43 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

I still use that dialer to log into free republic.


2 posted on 03/12/2025 12:55:51 PM PDT by Ken Regis (I concur )
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

The place I’m staying at in Italy has the dish drying rack above the sink in a cabinet, which is open at the bottom.

With commuter rail systems, you can tap your bank card before boarding on a device and then at a second device after getting off the train - no ticket is involved - tap, go, tap again.


3 posted on 03/12/2025 1:10:09 PM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

We had a hand-me-down sonic remote tv without the remote. By dropping some silverware one evening, we discovered we could change the channels by clanking 2 spoons together!
We were in uptown hog heaven.


4 posted on 03/12/2025 1:12:19 PM PDT by 3ZZZ
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

I remember the voting machines of the 1960s.

I also remember the train board at Baltimore’s Penn Station.


5 posted on 03/12/2025 1:13:36 PM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

I also remember Telex machines.


6 posted on 03/12/2025 1:15:49 PM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: 3ZZZ

Related to that, and the OP, there is the story of people hacking the AT&T long distance system with a Captain Crunch whistle. Yes, a free item from a cereal box.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/capn-crunch-whistle


7 posted on 03/12/2025 1:16:06 PM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

She looks pretty hot and well put together, I’d be checking her out too!


8 posted on 03/12/2025 1:16:48 PM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: Ken Regis

LOL...beep beep boop beep scrreeeeee!


9 posted on 03/12/2025 1:27:47 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (Democrats who say ‘no one is above the law’ won’t mind going to prison for the money they stole)
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To: 3ZZZ

LOL...maybe if you picked up tv stations in your tooth fillings, you wouldn’t even need the remote.


10 posted on 03/12/2025 1:28:47 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (Democrats who say ‘no one is above the law’ won’t mind going to prison for the money they stole)
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To: Brian Griffin
I used Telex all the time to communicate to the home office from remote job sites around the world - mid 70s.

I rode on steam locomotive trains.

The phone booth in remote China was powered by a stack of battery cells about 3" diameter and 10" tall. Similar to the EverReady No. 6 "Dry Cell":


11 posted on 03/12/2025 1:38:16 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (Democrats who say ‘no one is above the law’ won’t mind going to prison for the money they stole)
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To: FreedomPoster

LOL...I know your type. You were sneaking peeks at the “Ladies Undergarments” section of the Sears Roebuck catalog when Mom wasn’t watching.


12 posted on 03/12/2025 1:41:30 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (Democrats who say ‘no one is above the law’ won’t mind going to prison for the money they stole)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom; gundog
"Eeeeyaaaaaa!"


13 posted on 03/12/2025 2:01:58 PM PDT by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
This sorta came true:

This is still a work in progress:


14 posted on 03/12/2025 2:14:03 PM PDT by Sirius Lee ("Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”)
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To: Brian Griffin
"What the hell is email?"


15 posted on 03/12/2025 2:21:34 PM PDT by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

one of those gizmos would have saved my little “dialing” finger many miles.

When Mrs goo goo and I were high-school-sweethearts (for 3+ years), the last 4 digits of her phone # were 8890. That’s lots of revolutions!

As it turns out, it was worth the effort!


16 posted on 03/12/2025 2:23:22 PM PDT by goo goo g'joob (When honest people say what's true, calmly and without embarrassment, they become powerful)
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To: Brian Griffin

At my prior house I had a nice pot rack above the kitchen sink. It was great! Wash pot/pan, hang, done-zo!


17 posted on 03/12/2025 2:47:45 PM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: Larry Lucido

What is email? I remember its predecessor called the twix, spelled twx. It stood for teletypewriter exchange. I have memories of drafting them to be sent over the teletypewriter and also reading the printouts received from others.


18 posted on 03/12/2025 2:47:57 PM PDT by redfreedom (Happiness is shopping at Walmart and not hearing Spanish once!)
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To: redfreedom

Phooey on all that electronic crap. We had party lines so could listen in to the neighbors.


19 posted on 03/12/2025 3:21:39 PM PDT by oldasrocks
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

That battery (or one like it) was the very first mass-produced electrical product in the world, made available in the year 1800. It was marketed toward electrical experimenters.


20 posted on 03/12/2025 3:58:17 PM PDT by GingisK
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