"The Enigma machine based its cipher capabilities on a series of wired rotor wheels and a plugboard. Through a web of internal wiring, each of the 26 input contacts on the rotor was connected to a different output contact. The wiring connections of one rotor differed from the connections on any other rotor."
This is our own submission, but many of our readers voted for it, so we're including it here. The Widelux has a swing-lens that takes beautiful wide-angle shots. The lens preserves perspective so that faces don't appear distorted as with most wide-angle lenses. They went out of production in the '80s and are a rare treat for camera junkies.
Tape Op
"Way before Pixar made movies, they made parallel-image computers. Wikipedia says fewer than 300 of these were ever sold, and I think that may be an overestimate."
"These outdated display devices from the 1950s use 10 number-shaped cathodes suspended in a thin gas to create glowing digits, and are every steampunk toymaker's dream."
you at the mall?).
"Fun and addictive -- like most videogames of the time -- but original, as it used an actual built-in vector-graphics monitor for gameplay (as opposed to "raster" graphics). Fun fun fun!"
"American Express originally intended to build 100 of these gold-plated DMC-12s as a Christmas 1981 advertising promotion, but only two were ever built, and a third from spare parts."
"Nagra Cold War spy recorder originally designed for undercover surveillance during the Kennedy administration, later widely used in law enforcement. It uses tape the same width as cassette tape but on open reels and packs automatic dynamic level control and audio-compression circuitry into its machined aluminum 145 x 100 x 28 mm case."
Vintage Synth Explorer
.
and video
onto a standard Type II audio cassette. The image quality topped out at 160Khz (compared with 2.5Mhz for a normal signal), so the image comes out grainy and ghostly. A favorite these days for film students wanting an ethereal and artsy feel. Find yours on eBay."
