Barney & Clyde by Gene Weingarten; Dan Weingarten & David Clark for October 25, 2013

My geometry teacher had one of the first HP scientific calculators. It was attached to a table with a locked frame that allowed it to be used, but not moved.(So I’m not quite as old as the guy with spats.)

We were allow to use our deci/trig/log/log slide rules during a test.

Back in 1970, my instructors wouldn’t let me use my hand held calculator. They insisted that I use my slide rule.

@Randy_B. Good eye on the spats.

I liked using those electro-mechanical calculators. As big as a microwave and noisy as all get out!

abacuses are disallowed. abacus you asked

I like that the “calculator” (they were called “adding machines” then) he’s holding is completely manual!

I guess she doesn’t know.

Deitzgen (sp?) company declared slide rules obsolete and stopped making them back in the 1980s!

RedSamRackham

you can get the stripped model of slide rule at geeks.com.

or a virtual one at http://www.antiquark.com/sliderule/sim/virtual-slide-rule.html