Object Details
- distributor
- Sunset House
- Description
- From at least the 19th century, people have been intrigued by the ability of computing devices to assist in mental processes. The name of the “Magic-Brain Calculator” suggests this enthusiasm, although the capabilities of the instrument were quite modest.
- The Japanese-made notched band adder has a red plastic back, a silver-colored metal cover plate, and six fasteners around the edges that hold it together. Six bracket-shaped columns allow for borrowing and carrying. A row of seven holes above the columns shows the result. The bands fit rather loosely in the channels of the plastic back. A zeroing bar runs across the top and a stylus attahes to the side. The object is marked: MAGIC-BRAIN CALCULATOR. On the back It is marked: MADE IN JAPAN. For instructions, see 1987.0375.02.
- References: Popular Science, February, 1962, vol. 180, p. 20. This ad indicates that at that time the Magic-Brain Calculator cost $.98 and was distributed from the Sunset Building, Beverly Hills, California.
- P. Kidwell, “Adders Made and Used in the United States,” Rittenhouse, 8, (1994): pp. 78-96.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- Gift of William S. Snyder
- 1962
- date distributed
- 1962
- ID Number
- 1987.0375.01
- catalog number
- 1987.0375.01
- accession number
- 1987.0375
- Object Name
- adder
- Physical Description
- plastic (overall material)
- metal (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 1 cm x 7 cm x 14 cm; 13/32 in x 2 3/4 in x 5 1/2 in
- place made
- Japan
- place distributed
- United States: California, Beverly Hills
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Mathematics
- Adder
- Science & Mathematics
- National Museum of American History
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Record ID
- nmah_694509
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-2b83-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
