Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Texas Instruments | Little Professor Calculator


Last week, we took a look back at Texas Instruments Speak & Spell ...  any of you 30-somethings remember the Texas Instruments Little Professor calculator?

First released in 1976, this adorable, yet bulky hand held calculator made learning math fun for kids in the the early 1980s.

Yet another cool learning toy I never owned.

33 comments:

Macey said...

I did not have, nor did I ever see this calculator.
Rest assured, if I had, I'd have whined and cried and bitched until they bought it for me. And by "bought it for me" I really mean, would have spanked my ass and sent me to my room with a "you're not gonna get that damn calculator."
Just a little peak into my privileged childhood.

Jill said...

You didn't have one?! You poor thing. I totally remember this.

Cheeseboy said...

I HAD ONE OF THOSE! I thought I was the coolest kid on the block with that in my room. Totally forgot about it.

Anonymous said...

My cousin had this toy...

Babes Mami said...

you did the professor!! I was just telling you about this in a comment. Him and speak and spell were my favorite toys at Grandmas!

Ms. A said...

I don't think I remember this one.

Marlene said...

I don't remember this one, either. What I DO remember, however, is how HUGE calculators were when I first started using one. They got progressively smaller...like everything else.

TS Hendrik said...

Repressed... memory... flooding back!

*cue wavy lines*

Why can't I have a calculator like the other kids?

An abacus was good enough for you grandfather it's good enough for you.

*Exit wavy lines sequence*

MoonDoggie said...

"Yet another cool learning toy I never owned" - I've often thought this too but not so much about the 'learning'.

This guy looks very familiar to me but I never owned one.

Momma Fargo said...

I loved this guy!

Unknown said...

Following you back from
http://tsue-thatswhatshesaid.blogspot.com

Yes! We have one, too! Needed that smile today. Thanks!

Kalei's Best Friend said...

omg!!!!!!!!!!!!my oldest had one of these!.. my MIL use to peruse the thrift stores and found one that is similar to yours pictured...except the numbers were ginormous... I think we tossed that puppy awhile back.. she never used it...

Powdered Toast Man said...

Nope, I'm too young to have had one of those bad boys. I wonder if I can get one on ebay. I would definitely be the cool kid in college.

How come I haven't got any love from you in awhile? Do I smell funny?

Mimi said...

Of course I had one of those, Miss Ally! I was such a supernerdy kid, but in a good way. Loved any new gadget that came along.

Tracie said...

I'm pretty sure I had one of these. Or I spent so much time longing for one that it feels like I actually had it. Mommy Brain strikes again.

BigSis said...

I totally had this. Because it was educational. I missed out on the Easy Bake Oven and the Snoopy Snow Cone Machine. I wanted those so badly!

Copyboy said...

Loved the Little Professor. I'm pretty sure I actually owned one. It had a cool math quiz game. Ok, cool might be a strong word, but it was a game about math.

Unknown said...

I had this guy...brings back memories!

Kristie said...

Oh yes, I had this little guy! I actually posted about him on my blog not too long ago. :)

Salt said...

You make me so happy. I LOVED that guy!!!

Jeannie, Jane, Angel, Mommy, etc.. said...

I remember this! I wanted one, but we weren't allowed to use calculators!

rachaelgking said...

To this day I can type "BOOBLESS" with my eyes closed.

Ann On and On... said...

That's cool. I don't remember that either.

It's great to have you join SITS, Welcome!

Liz Mays said...

BOOM! Just hit by lightning as that came back to me!

liz said...

we had one. my brother and i were so close in age that we shared everything.

Bossy Betty said...

I did not own one either! I wonder what my life would have been like I had gotten one. I coulda' been somebody!!!!

California Keys said...

I've never seen one of those! It's incredibly cute though!

The calculators I use now need to be a bit more advance than the little professor....

Anonymous said...

It looks familiar but I never had it.

RainyDaySaver said...

Oh my gosh, I forgot all about this little guy -- love the flashback! I did have one of these!

Jerry said...

I think a friend of mine had one of those and I was frightened by it. It's still creepy looking.

Dan Alexander said...

I think I finally got rid of mine a few years ago. Fun to see it again!

b-chica said...

Pretty sure my sister had this and it is probably in the basement somewhere waiting for my father to fix the wiring (damn 9-volt battery connectors, always breaking when you try to change the batteries!).

Sabrina Steyling said...

I had one of those! He's cute, isn't he? Unfortunately he wasn't a very good teacher because I still stunk at math all through school LOL :)

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