Pulp Librarian:
In the 1970s the cost – and size – of calculators tumbled. Business tools became toys; as a result prestige tech companies had to rapidly diversify into other products – or die! This is the story of the 1970s great calculator race.
Are you old enough to remember your first “pocket calculator”? We weren’t allowed to use them in school and my dad wouldn’t let me use one for my homework – I had to do the math by hand and he would check it with his calculator. Thanks to Dave Mark for linking to this on Twitter.
In my Physics class in high school (let’s see, that would be 1972?) a kid whose dad worked at HP brought one in and we were blown away.
https://www.google.com/search?q=little+professor+calculator&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS753US754&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9r72Gz4bdAhVCUK0KHZhcB-cQ_AUICygC&biw=1641&bih=866#imgrc=nqCwqKrHuMM9DM:
In a rare moment of mid-70s shared interests, both my mother and I were fascinated by these things. Given her background in accounts management at a multinational bank, she was almost as motivated to get one as I was to play with it.
It was in 1975 that she picked up a Texas Instruments TI-2500 (?) for about $75 at a higher-end gift shop of some kind. Just a simple four-function brick, but it was great.
I bought a HP-35 in 1972 IIRC. I loved it but it took me a while to understand significant digits.
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