The Midget Calculator Review / HowTo

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  • Опубліковано 15 кві 2017
  • The Midget Calculator, copyright 1916. Created by LeRoy James Leishman.
    Mine is a fake. To download and print out your own, check out: cstaecker.fairfield.edu/~cstae...
    This is episode 18 of my video series about calculating devices.
    End song inspired by "Hotter Than a Molotov" by The Coup.
    Chris Staecker webarea: cstaecker.fairfield.edu/~cstae...
    Midget Adding Machine (troncet) photo from rechnerlexikon.de
    Leroy Jenkins picture from Upper Deck Entertainment
    Arcascope photo from americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_904244
    Brunsviga midget photo from www.earlyofficemuseum.com/calc...

КОМЕНТАРІ • 103

  • @8_Bit
    @8_Bit 2 роки тому +37

    Okay, I'm nearly 50 years old, a computer nerd my whole life, and I finally understand how slide rules work thanks to your video. And you didn't even (really much) show a slide rule.

    • @the8ctagon
      @the8ctagon 2 роки тому +1

      OK, I think I've just realised why UA-cam just started recommending Chris Staecker's channel to me. A tip of the hat to you, Robin! This is an example of the algorithm working well: I'm bingeing everything here.

    • @RVM451
      @RVM451 2 роки тому

      Okay. Le't's end the discussion n good terms-as much as can be. It just itrritates me that 3% of the people can force the other 97% to change their Terminology-and the vast Majority of that 3% have no horse in the race-they are just agitating. Apparently, sheer obstinance has disappeared from the world. I remember going to school in the 60's and the teachers told me not to use "Ain't" and I told them, "Who died and left you the boss of what words that I can use?" When PC Says, "This term is no longer acceptable"…see my responce to my elementary school teachers.

    • @MattMcIrvin
      @MattMcIrvin 7 місяців тому

      @@RVM451 It hurts me *way* less to avoid using a word that someone doesn't want to be called than it hurts them to hear it all the time every day. We're so far from a slippery slope where this becomes some kind of tyranny--it's really just basic politeness. It just takes a little getting used to when the rules change.

  • @PatrickPease
    @PatrickPease 2 роки тому +3

    this channel has done more to give me a good intuition of these maths than a lifetime of bookwork

  • @samisiddiqi5411
    @samisiddiqi5411 3 роки тому +19

    Lol it was this video that made me understand slide rules. You explained the damn thing in not even ten seconds!!

  • @t0k4m4k7
    @t0k4m4k7 2 роки тому +3

    Fizzy humor, short simple yet entertaining videos...
    The algorithm will soon make this channel blow up, mark my words

  • @samuelwaller4924
    @samuelwaller4924 Рік тому +1

    I never knew a video about slide rules and log scales could have so many jokes packed in lol. That marmite bit is genius

  • @birdy369
    @birdy369 2 роки тому

    Just found your channel, immediately looked for a slide rule video lol. I never used one but hope to own one soon. I can't wait to watch all of your different kinds of calculator videos and hope to see more soon! Subscribed!

  • @1zaj34
    @1zaj34 2 роки тому +18

    I just recently found your videos and now I'm enjoying them one by one. Love your presentation! 😀
    Just one little quirk with this one: 01:45 Karloff did not play Frankenstein. He played the monster.

    • @rogerrabbit80
      @rogerrabbit80 2 роки тому +2

      So many people don't realize that the name was "Frankenstein's Monster", and that "Frankenstein" was the Baron.

    • @MattMcIrvin
      @MattMcIrvin 7 місяців тому

      @@rogerrabbit80 Well, Frankenstein had more claim to be the monster's parent than anyone else (in fact that was the whole root of the trouble in the novel, that he was about the worst dad imaginable--if he'd given the creature some love and support everything might have been fine). So there's a good argument that the monster's last name is Frankenstein.

  • @stuffoflardohfortheloveof
    @stuffoflardohfortheloveof 2 роки тому +2

    Well, well…..that was fascinating and, now you’ve explained it, it makes complete sense, especially now you’ve shown me the basis of the slide rule as this was always something I meant to look up but, up to now, kept forgetting to do. Ta for posting. 👍🙂🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

  • @someonestolemyname
    @someonestolemyname 2 роки тому +4

    3:35 It took a while for me to realize what happened here. 2 minuses make a plus
    log(39) - (log(100) - log(52)) = log(39) + log(52) - log(100) = log(20.28)

  • @txikitofandango
    @txikitofandango 2 роки тому +1

    Impressive how you explained this machine without the words slide rule or logarithm... oh darn, so close

  • @RAkers-tu1ey
    @RAkers-tu1ey 2 роки тому +1

    The great thing about this device is that one can place it inside a book. I have several "field guides" filled with various facts and formulas to be used in "backpacking" types of scenarios where there may be no power, cell service, etc., and the resulting estimate is close enough.

  • @RustyCarnahan
    @RustyCarnahan 5 років тому +16

    I had something like this in gradeschool. There were two pieces of card stock pinned together, with a window slot cut in both sides, with a fixed scale on them. One side was for smaller numbers, the other side for larger. Between the two pieces of card stock was another piece, slightly longer, that slid back and forth. The principle of operation was the exact same as where you had the two "marmites" side by side. I wonder if I still have it?

    • @MattMcIrvin
      @MattMcIrvin 7 місяців тому

      When I was a kid my father gave me a metric-conversion slide chart he'd gotten as a premium from Computerworld magazine--it was a cardboard slider in a frame like that and it had two sides. One side was a big sliding table with windows exposing the numbers on it, but the other side was the one that fascinated me: it had a logarithmic scale with various marks on the frame labeled with different units. Basically just a multiplying slide rule with the marks calling out fixed ratios.

  • @waynerogers8333
    @waynerogers8333 6 років тому +32

    Very interesting video. Still have my slide rule from college (graduated in 1970) and hope to interest my grandson in math and engineering at an early age. This would be an good followup to the Napiers Bones calculator that I'm making for him. Tried to download the Midget Calculator but nothing downloaded. Is the image still available?

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  6 років тому +4

      Thanks for telling me! There was a problem on my server but I think I just fixed it. Try again-

    • @waynerogers8333
      @waynerogers8333 6 років тому +2

      Worked perfectly. Thanks

    • @johncartwright4041
      @johncartwright4041 2 роки тому +2

      In 1966,when I was in year 11, I took my father's sliderule to school and got into trouble for using high tech in maths. I had to go back to using log tables!

  • @RossMarsden
    @RossMarsden 2 роки тому +1

    About your last reveal, I am reminded of "if a service is free, you are the product".

  • @nateums
    @nateums 2 роки тому

    Such a cool way to look at multiplication

  • @KeithOlson
    @KeithOlson 2 роки тому +1

    "Wait, *We're* the calculator?"
    "Always were."

  • @chrisbell1878
    @chrisbell1878 Рік тому

    I love your tags, Chris: "The calculator is YOU!"

  • @yoursexualizedgrandparents6929
    @yoursexualizedgrandparents6929 2 роки тому

    Sucks I'm seeing these videos now.
    Great content, interesting and entertaining.

  • @ricsanders69
    @ricsanders69 2 роки тому

    This is just a one-sided slide-rule...used the law of logs as in: Log(xy) = Log(x)+Log(y) I have several slide-rules...I'm gonna have to print out one of these!

  • @joewoodchuck3824
    @joewoodchuck3824 2 роки тому +2

    The "wierd" scales are logarithmic, and logarithms are the basis for any normal slide rule. I actually collect them.

  • @LuciferTJ
    @LuciferTJ 2 роки тому +2

    He played Frankenstein's Monster. Frankenstein was the doctor. Not the monster.

  • @hatednyc
    @hatednyc 2 роки тому +1

    It’s called the Vegamite Calculator in Australia. (If you’re trying to be PC about it, anyway 🤣)

  • @whiskeyvictor5703
    @whiskeyvictor5703 2 роки тому

    If you take 11 times a number ending in 5 (we'll call that n5), all you have to do is add n plus 5 and insert the answer between n and 5. E.g. 11*25=275, 11*35=385, etc.

    • @redpepper74
      @redpepper74 2 роки тому

      That’s not actually exclusive to 5, it’ll work with any digit. Just remember to carry the 1 for sums larger than 9. (This happens because n*11 is the same as n*10 + n*1)

  • @lotgc
    @lotgc 2 роки тому +1

    Woah, this was made in Ogden, Utah? I basically live there!

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  2 роки тому +1

      Nice- keep your eyes open at the Goodwill!

    • @lotgc
      @lotgc 2 роки тому

      @@ChrisStaecker we don't really have goodwills here, but we do have the DI!

    • @rogerrabbit80
      @rogerrabbit80 2 роки тому +1

      @@lotgc And for those not familiar, I believe he's referring to "Deseret Industries", similar to Goodwill, but run by the LDS Church, aka Mormons, if that's not offensive to someone.
      I live in Las Vegas, where we have both.

  • @stephanberger3476
    @stephanberger3476 2 роки тому +1

    I thought Boris played Frankenstein's monster, though.

  • @RalphReagan
    @RalphReagan 2 роки тому +1

    Have you seen a round slide rule? Loved mine

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  2 роки тому +1

      I have some- future video!

    • @johncartwright4041
      @johncartwright4041 2 роки тому +1

      I assume you're talking about a spiral / cylinderical sliderule. I had to use one in my first job in 1969.

    • @RalphReagan
      @RalphReagan 2 роки тому

      @@ChrisStaecker cool

    • @RalphReagan
      @RalphReagan 2 роки тому +1

      @@johncartwright4041 mine was a disk

  • @manuelgolindanob.5381
    @manuelgolindanob.5381 7 місяців тому

    Hey does exist a slide rule or a do-it-yourself ruler to make additions and divisions?

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  7 місяців тому

      An ordinary slide rule can do division, but not really addition. There was a slide rule by Faber-Castell with an addiator on the back side. The addiator is great for addition.

  • @NoNameAtAll2
    @NoNameAtAll2 2 роки тому

    so it's a slide rule?

  • @user-hi7to3bp1p
    @user-hi7to3bp1p Рік тому

    対数目盛りの 計算尺
    a logarithmic slide rule

  • @steveb2274
    @steveb2274 2 роки тому +4

    Looks like a different kind of Sliderule (which was used long before computers) to me!

  • @pablorepetto7804
    @pablorepetto7804 2 роки тому +1

    I guess the true calculator was inside us all along.

  • @snixal
    @snixal 2 роки тому

    I laughed out loud when leishmans pic came up

  • @bob-ny6kn
    @bob-ny6kn 2 роки тому

    This could be adhered to wall, for public use.

  • @jaytc3218
    @jaytc3218 2 роки тому

    It’s basically the C or D scale from a slide rule (yep, I’m one of the few people on the planet with a slide rule). Rather than make marks on paper, Leischman would have been better off leaving the slide rule intact so the user could move the hair line over the other number. But hey, whatever got the job done!

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  2 роки тому +2

      This is far easier and cheaper to make than a slide rule- that’s the point really.

    • @MattMcIrvin
      @MattMcIrvin 7 місяців тому +1

      The immediate ancestor of the slide rule was a non-sliding rule with a logarithmic scale called Gunter's line, which you were supposed to use with dividers to transfer the intervals from one place to another. This thing is a revival of Gunter's line. Various museum sites have others though, which suggests to me that "Gunter rules" were fairly common in the 19th century as cheaper alternatives to a slide rule.

    • @jaytc3218
      @jaytc3218 7 місяців тому

      @@MattMcIrvin interesting! It’s fascinating to see how the log scale developed over time - each successive person building a “better mousetrap” so to speak.

  • @manuelgolindanob.5381
    @manuelgolindanob.5381 7 місяців тому

    Is it possible to use this device to divide two numbers?

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  7 місяців тому

      Yes- you basically do things backwards. To do like 8/4=2, I would put markings on the paper at 8 and 4, then slide the ruler so that 1 is at your leftmost marking (where the 4 was). Now the other mark should sit at the answer of 2.

  • @RatRatRattyRatRat
    @RatRatRattyRatRat 2 роки тому

    This is magic. Can't convince me otherwise.

    • @RatRatRattyRatRat
      @RatRatRattyRatRat 2 роки тому

      Wonder if they got longer ones. Like, 10 to 1000.

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  2 роки тому

      As far as I know this was the only version of this thing. Anyone who’s really serious about using a device like this should just get a real slide rule, so there’s not much point in making a “deluxe” version.

  • @MirlitronOne
    @MirlitronOne 2 роки тому +1

    So it's half a slide rule.

  • @mikeadler434
    @mikeadler434 2 роки тому

    👍👍

  • @stephenperretti8847
    @stephenperretti8847 2 роки тому

    Have you ever investigated how to do arithmetic in Roman Numerals?
    Very easy. Try it.

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  2 роки тому +1

      I tried it once here at 2:38 : ua-cam.com/video/_ubBAAgLiok/v-deo.html

  • @gustavgnoettgen
    @gustavgnoettgen 2 роки тому +6

    I guess "Marmite" is the name of some mathematician or something? Or is it really just "hey look it's hideously small"?

    • @MarcFresko
      @MarcFresko 2 роки тому +2

      NO!!! Marmite is a very salty (actually, even saltier than very) sandwich spread. Made from a yeast extract. Incredibly strong and distinctive taste. Some people love it, some hate it.

    • @gustavgnoettgen
      @gustavgnoettgen 2 роки тому

      @@MarcFresko I heard about it and I'm curious, but it's hard to get in Germany for a responsible amount of money. And when I find some then Vegimite wich, as I understand, isn't the same.

    • @naajohnnorthcott8267
      @naajohnnorthcott8267 2 роки тому +2

      Actually, it's French for "stew pot" and is being used as a replacement for the dreaded "m" word. How silly can you get? Am I allowed to use "silly" or will that upset silly people?

    • @gustavgnoettgen
      @gustavgnoettgen 2 роки тому

      @@naajohnnorthcott8267 I don't speak French, but I also don't know what you mean by the rest.

    • @naajohnnorthcott8267
      @naajohnnorthcott8267 2 роки тому +1

      @@gustavgnoettgen It's actually a "midget" calculator but the video maker was afraid of upsetting small people so he substituted "marmite". I was commenting on the substitution.

  • @rodume5390
    @rodume5390 2 роки тому +1

    I was hoping this device actually calculated little people. Oh, well.

  • @beebs4283
    @beebs4283 2 роки тому +1

    oh god why did they name it after a **slur**? what is wrong with them?

  • @christopherellis2663
    @christopherellis2663 Рік тому

    Marmite is a cooking pot.

  • @meatykyun5981
    @meatykyun5981 2 роки тому

    me thinking this was one april fools joke frome the thumnail...nope was not. i am very amzed this exists.

  • @starga-fr7qx
    @starga-fr7qx 2 роки тому

    Midgets were way smaller in the 1916 days

  • @christopherellis2663
    @christopherellis2663 Рік тому

    Astronomical Calculator used to be a profession.

  • @jack002tuber
    @jack002tuber 3 місяці тому

    You can't go into the origins of the sliderule without mentioning Napier's bones.

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  3 місяці тому

      Napier's bones has nothing to do with the origins of the sliderule.

    • @jack002tuber
      @jack002tuber 3 місяці тому

      @@ChrisStaecker LOL. Sure

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  3 місяці тому

      @@jack002tuber Here is the entire connection as far as I'm aware: Napier invented Napier's bones (which have nothing to do with logarithms). Napier also invented the logarithm (which has nothing to do with Napier's bones), and the logarithm eventually led to somebody else inventing the slide rule.
      There is no mathematical relationship between the two devices- the only possible relation is an accidental historic one because they are both associated with Napier.
      Am I missing something?

  • @mander9175
    @mander9175 2 роки тому

    Well, this isn't what I expected.......

  • @johneygd
    @johneygd 4 роки тому +1

    Yes indeed, the medget calculator is not a calculator, you, your brain is a calculator, the medget meter only could give approximation about what the ansure could,ve be, considerthis more as a clue meter.

  • @Maazin5
    @Maazin5 2 роки тому

    The text that says "The Midget/Marmite Calculator" is actually the vocative case, not nominative 🤯

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  2 роки тому

      I don't get it... are you reading auto-translated subtitles into a cased language?

    • @Maazin5
      @Maazin5 2 роки тому

      @@ChrisStaecker No I'm just making a joke that the ruler is calling you "The Marmite Calculator" and not the other way around.

  • @farpointgamingdirect
    @farpointgamingdirect 2 роки тому +2

    Feelings do not compute; we cant go changing every little thing that may piss someone off; history is history: leave it alone

  • @edpaleosapien7832
    @edpaleosapien7832 2 роки тому

    I had the midget pocket calculator.

  • @mikusoxlongius
    @mikusoxlongius 2 роки тому +1

    Some women were calculators during WW2.

  • @scorp10fl53
    @scorp10fl53 2 роки тому

    You didn't have a great idea. It already existed....as a slide rule.

  • @RVM451
    @RVM451 2 роки тому

    You lost me when you went PC!

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  2 роки тому +4

      I teach respect

    • @RVM451
      @RVM451 2 роки тому

      @@ChrisStaecker Accepting the Modern Wave of PC SJW Terminology is disrespecting all the people who went before and used the Earlier Terminology. When you use terms Like: "Little People" and "Native American" you SPIT in the Face of many Generations of people who said, "Midget"; "Dwarf" and "Indian" -and none of those people were ill-intentioned people who meant harm. The American Language has become HOSTAGE to any group of Activists who can foment dissatisfaction-and almost always, it is a very small and highly vocal minority that is offended.I am opposed to altering terminology FOR ANY REASON. It is LESS OFFENSIVE to use OFFENSIVE TERMINOLOGY (IF it is indeed Offensive) than it is to ALTER TERMINOLOGY. THAT is the ULTIMATE OFFENCE so far as I'm concerned. And People who are willing to meekly change their terminology are WICKED AND EVIL. The only way to fight the rot of the American Language is to be mule-stuborn, dig in both heels and refuse to be budged. Change MAY be inevitable, but that doesn't absolve anyone of the responsibility to RESIST CHANGE.

  • @SharpObserver1A
    @SharpObserver1A 2 роки тому

    Disgusting voice sustainment, goes from clear to mumbling a lot.

  • @davidpalmer7175
    @davidpalmer7175 2 роки тому +4

    Really now, "MIDGET" just means "SMALL"... Get over yourself for Christ sake!

    • @ChrisStaecker
      @ChrisStaecker  2 роки тому +6

      Ask a little person how they feel about it- No skin off my back to be respectful.