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Things You Don't See Anymore Part 3
- Thread starter Richland123
- Start date
Now, where did I park my time machine?
Seeburg 1000 Background Music System
Wow! I bought one of those mailorder out of some computer magazine... would have been 1978-ish?
That was back when "postal money orders" were a thing!
I've been very much enjoying this thread - I only found it a few days ago, and have been reading it from the beginning (I'm up to page 250 so far).
I got a Big Loo Robot for Christmas, 1963, when I was 7.
Pretty sure my parents ordered it from Sears:
I asked Richland123, and he thinks y'all covered it already some time back, but I have what might be new information. There's apparently a whole website devoted to this robot:
Big Loo Robot: Your Friend From The Moon (it's http, not https, so some of you may get a warning - it seems safe, though). There's a bunch of articles there - the one on the evolution of Big Loo's goofy grin was interesting.
I did some research on eBay, and using their research tool, I found that the most one of these has sold for in the last 3 years was $3,300 (for one in "Museum Quality" condition):
A more recent one sold for $1,399: https://www.ebay.com/itm/197587491927
The lowest I saw any of them sell or listed for was $250.
That same Christmas, a friend on my block also got a robot - it was blue, was shorter and stockier than Big Loo, and could move, via remote wired control. I was a little jealous of that feature, but I still liked my Big Loo. Well, I'd bet money that what he had was the "Robot Commando" shown on the same Sears catalog page, and it turns out that the Robot Commando is what's shown in Richland123's avatar!
I lived at a time when robot toys were very popular, but I'm pretty sure Big Loo was the only significant one I ever owned. Wish I'd kept it!
I got a Big Loo Robot for Christmas, 1963, when I was 7.
Pretty sure my parents ordered it from Sears:
I asked Richland123, and he thinks y'all covered it already some time back, but I have what might be new information. There's apparently a whole website devoted to this robot:
Big Loo Robot: Your Friend From The Moon (it's http, not https, so some of you may get a warning - it seems safe, though). There's a bunch of articles there - the one on the evolution of Big Loo's goofy grin was interesting.
I did some research on eBay, and using their research tool, I found that the most one of these has sold for in the last 3 years was $3,300 (for one in "Museum Quality" condition):
A more recent one sold for $1,399: https://www.ebay.com/itm/197587491927
The lowest I saw any of them sell or listed for was $250.
That same Christmas, a friend on my block also got a robot - it was blue, was shorter and stockier than Big Loo, and could move, via remote wired control. I was a little jealous of that feature, but I still liked my Big Loo. Well, I'd bet money that what he had was the "Robot Commando" shown on the same Sears catalog page, and it turns out that the Robot Commando is what's shown in Richland123's avatar!
I lived at a time when robot toys were very popular, but I'm pretty sure Big Loo was the only significant one I ever owned. Wish I'd kept it!
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Was probably expensive. Even later the first TI calculators were like $100
The movie Forbidden Planet(1956) is what got me started with robots in 1960. Your guy even resembles Robby.
Many years later in college I took some courses in a new field they called AI.
Then I was actually building them for real. Never could have imagined.
Moral of the story is Dream ON.
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I don't remember exactly but I think it might have been $30-40 Canadian. The 9 volt battery that ran it was probably a buck and a half...
This toy was posted some time ago. From 1961, The Great Garloo was a monster type toy with mobile robotic features.
Wow, that looks pretty cool - never saw one like that!
My first calculator was a Bowman 4-banger (Sears-branded), cost $99.
Not long after, the scientific ones came out - all my fellow geeks in Chemistry & Physics used the HP-35, then the HP-45, both around $300-$400, IIRC. I didn't like the price, and I didn't get along with RPN (Reverse Polish Notation), so I upgraded to a Commodore(!) scientific model that used algebraic notation, again for $99. Pretty sure it was this one:
We all had belt holsters for our calculators, similar to what the slide-rule guys used to use. I came in at the transition period, and never really learned how to use a slide rule for much (although I still have mine - it's around here somewhere)
Now I have a free calculator app on my phone that will do everything any of those would, and more. Still, using a physical device is definitely more satisfying.
Oh man - that one comes up in my YouTube feed more times than I care to admit. And I watch it every time. Child of the 70s.
I had the football and basketball, but I must say I have never seen this one it is cool!
That is SO late-'70s! It's like a who's-who of TV celebrities from that era.
I still have my Casio fx-451, in working order. Posted before. You just had to make sure not to bend it backwards. The sales rep couldn't tell me how long the solar cells would last. I can report that it's at least 40 years, although with minimal usage. 
I want to say that it cost me $12 although somebody on Reddit remembers that it might have been $27. I didn't have $27.
I want to say that it cost me $12 although somebody on Reddit remembers that it might have been $27. I didn't have $27.
