sauntering-vaguely-downwards:

kittyknowsthings:

eilupt:

biggest-gaudiest-patronuses:

sauntering-vaguely-downwards:

roboticsappreciationsociety:

did-you-kno:

‘The Writer,’ 1 of 3 surviving automata
from the 18th century, is a programmable
boy that uses quill and ink to write any 40
letters of custom text. This 240-year-old
automaton uses all 6,000 of its parts to
create just enough pressure for fluid,
elegant writing, and is thought by
some to be the first computer. Source

This is truly a masterpiece of engineering from an early age. So amazing!

okay LOOK. I understand that on a purely mechanical and engineering level that this is an incredible piece but if scifi and fantasy media has taught me anything it’s that this motherfucker is haunted af and probably writes out gruesome deaths that mysteriously end up coming to pass thanks but NO THANKS BYE

computer science major here, i’m with haunted guy

Writer is actually one of a set language of three! The other ones play the organ:

And draw (it produces four different drawings):

Thank you for these images. Which just might give me nightmares.

This is the worst update I could have ever been updated with, thank you.

No idea why the OP chopped it off, but that should read “One of three surviving automata from the 18th century built by Jaquet-Droz”.

The automata were designed and built by Pierre Jaquet-Droz, Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz and Jean-Frédéric Leschot as advertisement and entertainment toys designed to improve the sales of watches among the nobility of Europe in the 18th century. They were carried around, and lost at several points. The History and Archeology society of Neuchâtel eventually bought them in 1906, for 75,000 gold francs, and gave them to the museum. (Source)