Bow Down to the Original Pocket Calculator

Before the advent of the microprocessor geeks lived pretty boring lives. For one thing there was no WOW, and that of course meant people got a lot more done. But on the other hand doing pretty much everything was substantially slower. Want to look up some information? You had the robust Dewey Decimal System and files of card catalogs to wade through. Need to heat up some food? Try 400º for 55 minutes. And video games... don't even get us started.

Through this terrible dark technology period the mechanical slide rule was the one gleam of hope that true geeks could cling to. Here was a simple device with one sliding part that could do complex mathematical calculations in moments. Multiplication, division, roots, logarithms, and even trigonometry could be performed with ease. But as technology marched forward with sophisticated computers and graphing pocket calculators the lowly slide rule was forgotten... left unused in attic boxes and yard sales, its contribution to aviation, space exploration, and architecture just a memory.

Until now that is.

ThinkGeek has re-created the classic student slide rule in a last homage to all that is good and geeky. Now you can own a bit of technological history and do some handy math calculations to boot. The ThinkGeek Slide Rule is a faithful replica of the original rules used during the 50s and 60s. All the standard scales and calculations work just as well as they did fifty years ago with no batteries required. Since no slide rule manufacturing facility exists currently, we were forced to start from scratch. You will find that each ThinkGeek Slide Rule is individually hand tooled and printed and comes complete with a vinyl sleeve in an authentic retro styled box.

Don't remember how to use a slide rule? Don't worry we needed a bit of prodding ourselves. Here are some links to help you out:

• Pickett Slide Rule Manual
• Wonderful Detailed Slide Rule Guide by the Slide Rule Museum
• History of the Slide Rule by The Oughtred Society

Product Features

• Perfect re-creation of the classic slide rule
• The one and only slide rule currently manufactured!
• Includes vinyl sleeve and retro styled box
• Individually hand tooled and printed
• Perform the following calculations: Multiplication, Division, Squares, Square Root, Cubes, Cube Root, Proportion, Logarithms, Sine, Cosine, Tangent, Cotangent
• No batteries required
• 12.5 inches long