Posted
on July 12, 2016
When
I was a kid, there were no smart phones or home computers (and
precious few office computers, even), and black and white TV was a
pretty nifty newish thing. We were pleased as punch to get FOUR
DIFFERENT CHANNELS!
And
then there was this toy that looked a bit like a TV!
Etch
A Sketch had a screen, like a TV. And it had two knobs, like a TV.
And it displayed shades of gray, like a B&W TV.
Best
of all, it was nifty and new, like TV!
On
this date in 1960, Etch A Sketch was introduced to the buying public
for the low-low price of $2.99. Six hundred thousand of the toy sold
that year. It went on to be one of the best-known toys of its era,
and it has since been inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame,
among other honors.
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| This is what the insides of an Etch A Sketch looks like. |
Basically,
Etch A Sketch is a kind of plotter. The inside surface of the glass
screen is coated with aluminum powder. There is a stylus (sort of a
pointed object used to write or draw with) inside, too, and when you
move the stylus using the knobs, it scrapes off the powder as it
goes. That leaves a dark line on the light gray screen.
One
knob moves the stylus vertically, and the other moves it
horizontally. And when you move both together, you can get a diagonal
line – although it's usually a bit crooked and shaky!
To
erase the picture, you just turn the Etch A Sketch upside down and
shake it. That allows the beads in the toy to smooth out, re-coating
the entire screen with the aluminum powder.
It's
kind of interesting to note that the “black” line is just
exposing the darkness inside the toy. If you fill in a lot of the
screen with “black” – you actually allow enough light in to
light up parts of the interior!!
So,
what kind of pictures can you make with an Etch A Sketch?
I
did a lot of this sort of thing:
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| I didn't write anything this cool, back when I was a kid, but this looks a lot like my level of lettering... |
People a TON more skilled (and patient!) than me have created pieces
like this, just using an Etch A Sketch!:
Also
on this date:
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Plan ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
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