18 Dec
2001
18 Dec
'01
3:18 p.m.
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
18 Dec
18 Dec
4:21 p.m.
Think-A-Tron, made by Hasbro.
I had one too (and still wish I had it)
These do show up on eBay from time to time.
Rick Bensene
The Old Calculator Web Museum
http://www.geocities.com/oldcalculators
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
[mailto:owner-classiccmp@classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Glen Goodwin
Sent: Tuesday, December 18, 2001 9:19 PM
To: classiccmp
Subject: Ancient "toy computer"
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
4:45 p.m.
Think-A-Tron, made by Hasbro.
I had one too (and still wish I had it)
These do show up on eBay from time to time.
There's one there right now:
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1677390749
19 Dec
19 Dec
4:45 a.m.
Oops. It's at only $40. 10hrs of newly frenzied bidding to go.
Lawrence
Reply to:
lgwalker(a)mts.net
Think-A-Tron, made by Hasbro.
I had one too (and still wish I had it)
These do show up on eBay from time to time.
There's one there right now:
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1677390749
18 Dec
18 Dec
5:26 p.m.
On Wed, 19 Dec 2001, Glen Goodwin wrote:
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,
This fine toy is called the Think-A-Tron and was made by Hasbro. I've got
one in the box (one of the few good deals I've gotten on eBay).
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
12 Feb
12 Feb
7:52 a.m.
--- Sellam Ismail <foo(a)siconic.com> wrote:
This fine toy is called the Think-A-Tron and was made
by Hasbro. I've
got one in the box (one of the few good deals I've gotten on eBay).
So what _is_ a good deal on a Think-A-Tron? Better yet, what's a bad
deal?
-ethan
__________________________________________________
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4:14 a.m.
On Tue, 12 Feb 2002, Ethan Dicks wrote:
They're fairly common, so I wouldn't put a very high price on one. If
it's in very pristine shape with a pristine box and all the bits and
pieces, $50.
Typical price seems to be $30.
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
* Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *
This fine toy
is called the Think-A-Tron and was made by Hasbro. I've
got one in the box (one of the few good deals I've gotten on eBay).
So what _is_ a good deal on a Think-A-Tron? Better yet, what's a bad
deal?
8119
days inactive
8175
days old
6 comments
6 participants
participants (6)
-
acme_ent＠bellsouth.net -
erd_6502＠yahoo.com -
foo＠siconic.com -
lgwalker＠mts.net -
rickb＠bensene.com -
wmsmith＠earthlink.net