• Re: Old gadgets that expected an owner

    From Kurt Weiske@3:633/10 to All on Thu Jun 4 07:49:56 2026
    To: Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=
    Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?= wrote to alt.folklore.computers <=-

    Yes, timer-based toasters are a real improvement.

    I worked for Berkeley Systems (home of After Dark, the "Flying Toasters"
    screen saver), and in one of our hallways we had a toaster museum. It
    was interesting seeing all of the proto-toasters before we settled on
    the current arrangement of vertical slots.

    I always wanted to try them all out. A toaster is like a camera or any
    other tool, it should be used, not put on display. And, I'd bet most of
    them still worked. :)

    kurt weiske | kweiske at realitycheckbbs dot org
    | http://realitycheckbbs.org
    | 1:218/700@fidonet



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  • From Julian Macassey@3:633/10 to All on Fri Jun 5 09:56:17 2026
    On Thu, 4 Jun 2026 07:49:56 -0700, Kurt Weiske <kurt.weiske@realitycheckbbs.org.remove-4me-this> wrote:

    I worked for Berkeley Systems (home of After Dark, the "Flying
    Toasters" screen saver), and in one of our hallways we had a
    toaster museum. It was interesting seeing all of the
    proto-toasters before we settled on the current arrangement of
    vertical slots.

    I always wanted to try them all out. A toaster is like a camera
    or any other tool, it should be used, not put on display. And,
    I'd bet most of them still worked. :)

    The old toasters were rugged. I remember an op-ed decades
    ago where the writer wrote how he was using a 25 year old toaster
    that he received as a wedding present that outlasted all hos
    other kitchen appliances.

    --
    The NHS will last as long as there are folk left with faith to
    fight for it. - Aneurin Bevan

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