[analog31]

Indeed, my dad was a research scientist at a large chemical company, and every scientist had a Friden mechanical calculator, which was capable of multiplying and dividing. But it was not a programmable computer.

When the HP 35 came out, it was cheaper than the annual maintenance contract for the Friden. They bought one, and passed it around to try out for a week, then all of the Fridens went into the dumpster. Of course he brought one home, and we got to play with it.

[JKCalhoun]

Ha ha, the rich kids when I was in high school Physics had these calculators. It was the first I had seen them. At over $100 (as I recall) they were completely out of reach for me and half the class.

(Ands they had to either have an extra set of batteries handy or access to an outlet to plug in the cord since the possibility of the batteries dying during a test was a real likelihood.)