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paleotn

(22,264 posts)

3. Lots of stuff like that back in the day. Feels like there's less emphasis on such things today.

Reply to LiberalArkie (Original post)

Sun Mar 29, 2026, 09:20 AM

Mar 29

I remember "graduating" from tinker toys and lincoln logs to erector sets, Kenner girder and panel, and various and sundry science kits.

They were the mental birthplace of engineers and scientists not simply because we got the kit to work. Some of us wanted to know how and why it worked.

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LiberalArkie

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Highlight:

(AI Created voice and images): What Happened To Radioshack's Science Fair Kit? The Toy That Built America's Engineers [View all] LiberalArkie Mar 29 OP

I had a crystal radio kit, probably around 1950. 3Hotdogs Mar 29 #1

So, I had pretty much every version from their catalog. OldBaldy1701E Mar 29 #2

Back in the day. It's a wonder we lived through it. paleotn Mar 29 #5

Famous Chevy Nova. Named to appeal to Latinos. No Va. Doesn't Go. usonian Mar 29 #17

I had heard about how it was one of the worse selling cars in Hispanic America for that reason. OldBaldy1701E Mar 30 #25

A 350 in that little car was just amazing. usonian Mar 30 #28

Lots of stuff like that back in the day. Feels like there's less emphasis on such things today. paleotn Mar 29 #3

Makers Maninacan Mar 29 #4

AI slop. Please edit your title to reflect this is AI slop, or better yet, pull the entire thing. TIA Celerity Mar 29 #6

It literally says AI Generated content right on the screen. LiberalArkie Mar 29 #7

IMHO you should disclose that this is AI slop in your OP title. Celerity Mar 29 #8

Many kids and teens today build their own gaming rigs Prairie Gates Mar 29 #9

My first IBM Clone was from a defective motherboard I bought from Jameco as I could not afford a new one LiberalArkie Mar 29 #20

Some of us had a higher risk tolerance (just kidding) usonian Mar 29 #10

I have the transistor version of that tube radio. hunter Mar 29 #13

I never saw one. usonian Mar 29 #14

Yeah, it is curious that there were not more injuries. Disaffected Mar 29 #18

There's a lot of ways to electrocute yourself with that. hunter Mar 29 #19

Wow, that takes me back. Disaffected Mar 29 #16

Radio Shack was far from the only company that made such kits. MineralMan Mar 29 #11

I had a montgomery wards type of electronic kit about 1970 BlueWaveNeverEnd Mar 30 #27

Why do people keep hammering this site with AI slop? If it is not inaccurate, it is unethical on account of how it . . . xocetaceans Mar 29 #12

I didn't watch the video. I rarely do. hunter Mar 29 #15

It was good. LiberalArkie Mar 29 #21

I can imagine that the scribes felt the same way when the Gutenberg press came out. And all readers that would read LiberalArkie Mar 29 #22

The problem with that comment is that your analogy is faulty. 'AI' is not a means of transmission of ideas: it has . . . xocetaceans Mar 29 #23

Same here because generally it is a waste of time to interact with 'AI' content. Take for example this video from . . . xocetaceans Mar 29 #24

More AI slop, with the script probably AI-written as well. Possibly from a foreign content farm. highplainsdem Mar 30 #26