Notes Design

It's a beautiful thing when good design is the byproduct of finely-done mechanical engineering. If all engineers had an eye for aesthetics, yes, we ID'ers would be obsolete; but we could live with that if the world was filled with objects such as this.

The Curta Mechanical Calculator had 605 parts and required no electricity; it operated by means of a handcrank at the top, earning it the nickname of The Pepper Grinder Calculator, and made a pleasing mechanical purr as the parts moved.

It was designed by Curt Herzstark while he was a prisoner in a concentration camp; read the fascinating story here.

via drb