Quote:
Originally Posted by wyndslash
cool!
i remember my grandmother was a whiz with the abacus, though  |
The Abacus vs. the Electric Calculator
"An exciting contest between the Japanese abacus and the electric calculating machine was held in Tokyo on November 12, 1946, under the sponsorship of the U. S. Army newspaper, the Stars and Stripes. In reporting the contest, the Stars and Stripes remarked:
"The machine age tool took a step backward yesterday at the Emie Pyle Theater as the abacus, centuries old, dealt defeat to the most up-to-date electric machine now being used by the United States Government...The abacus victory was decisive."
The Nippon Times reported the contest as follows:
"Civilization, on the threshold of the atomic age, tottered Monday afternoon as the 2,000-year-old abacus beat the electric calculating machine in adding, subtracting, dividing and a problem including all three with multiplication thrown in, according to UP. Only in multiplication alone did the machine triumph..." "
OOOPS!
I've read that even though the abacus was the clear winner, the Japanese were very impressed with the technology. And look what happened.
