[bitminer]

I remember pestering my father for one back in 1973.

He managed to get a demonstrator from the local office of HP, for iirc CAD$695, which was a lot of money in those days.

I would push a few number keys and the log button, and, like magic, 10 significant figures. Beyond magic.

The other mystery was this: on the label at the bottom on the reverse side, it said "Made in Singapore".

To me, in the early 1970s Canada, that was as mysterious a place as you could imagine.

(I'm sure it was assembled there, not manufactured, but still.)