I took drafting back in the 50’s. The typical attire of the science nerds back
then included a pocket protector with about 6 pens, a pair of black thick
plastic rim glasses, and a slide rule hanging from our belts. This guaranteed
we would not be distracted by the girls in HS and University, thus could
concentrate on our academic work and some essential (there were real sunspots
back in that era) ham radio activity. Fast forward a few years when I was a
new Physics teacher. It was an absolute necessity to have good slide rule
proficiency back in the pre computer days. In my class room there was a large
heavy (demonstration) slide rule hanging from just above the blackboard. The
slide alone must have had a mass of 2 or 3 kg, and there were several finger
holes drilled all the way through the slide.
Since I was a new young teacher, I wanted to impress my students with my
great slide rule skills. So I did a demonstration of quickly working the slide
rule. Part way through the problem I placed my finger through a hole and then
very quickly moved the slide. My rapidly moving finger in the hole quickly
approached the metal bars linking the upper and lower scales. I did not pull
my finger out in time, and the heavy slide with it’s inertia smashed my finger
into the metal end bars. The slide rule made a rather effective finger
guillotine. I did not lose my finger, but it hurt for many days, and since I
was a new teacher, I could not run outside and cry or say naughty words in
front of the class. Also this was near the beginning of class, so I needed to
keep my cool, and pretend that nothing had happened for the next half hour
while I lectured with tears in my eyes. Cheers, Rick KL7CW
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
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