100 Ways To Use Your Pocket Calculator

Ah, the 1970s—a time when bell-bottoms reigned supreme, disco was king, and the pocket calculator burst onto the scene like a mathematically inclined superhero. Enter Len Buckwalter’s magnum opus, "100 Ways To Use Your Pocket Calculator"—a title that dances tantalisingly on the line between the practically utilitarian and the utterly absurd. If you’ve ever felt the need to spice up your life with some serious pocket-based numerical wizardry, then Buckwalter’s your man. This book promises to turn your mundane calculator into a Swiss Army knife of surprising applications, and by ’promises,’ we mean it may just lead you down a rabbit hole of bizarre calculations and mundanity-reducing experiments.

This delightful volume, published by Fawcett Gold Medal in that glittering, optimistic year of 1975, offers a treasure trove of uses that you never knew you needed—or wanted. From calculating your weekly grocery expenses (or how many cans of beans you can buy with your meager allowance) to perplexingly specific algorithms for predicting the weather based on the number of hats you own, Buckwalter’s insights may leave you questioning if a calculator really is all that it’s cracked up to be. Did you ever consider using your calculator as a conversation starter at dinner parties? No? Well, you will after reading this.

What’s more, prepare yourself for an unexpected journey through the mind of a man who believed that pocket calculators could hold the key to a more productive life. Need to impress your friends with your ability to calculate the tip without breaking a sweat? There’s a chapter for that. Want to know how to create a sophisticated budget for your 1970s vinyl collection? Buckwalter’s got you covered. Or perhaps you’re curious about how to determine the best angle to throw a frisbee to maximise distance? (Spoiler: It’s not what you think.)

In these pages filled with whimsical calculations and somewhat questionable advice, Buckwalter’s tone oscillates between earnest and delightfully tongue-in-cheek. You might find yourself chuckling at his overly enthusiastic predictions about how pocket calculators would revolutionise daily life, as if they were the next incarnation of sliced bread. The sheer audacity of suggesting that a humble device can elevate your existence is a refreshing reminder of the boundless optimism of the era. Perhaps, in some alternate universe, this book sparked a revolution, and calculators are now the dominant species, enslaving humanity through their insatiable thirst for numbers.

The design and layout of the text scream retro, with fonts and illustrations that will take you back to when the biggest fear was the oil crisis, not your online privacy. Each page practically begs you to put down your smartphone and embrace the tactile joy of pressing buttons that make delightful beeping noises. It begs the question: can one really derive joy from a pocket calculator? Perhaps that’s the very existential crisis Buckwalter seeks to address.

Condition: This particular copy has seen some action, much like the pocket calculators of yesteryear. It may bear the scars of a life well-lived, featuring a cover that’s slightly dog-eared and a spine that whispers of late-night calculations and unexpected revelations. There might be a few ink marks here and there, likely the remnants of someone’s desperate attempts to outline the most ludicrous methods of using their pocket companion. It’s the kind of used condition that suggests this book has been well-loved—or at least well-thumbed—by someone who dared to dream big with their arithmetic skills.

So, if you’re feeling nostalgia for a simpler time when calculators lived in pockets and not in the cloud, or if you simply want to take a trip down the rabbit hole of absurdity, then "100 Ways To Use Your Pocket Calculator" is the perfect companion for your next quirky evening in. Available at Crappy Old Books, where we embrace the beautiful chaos of second-hand literature, this book is sure to leave you chuckling, bemused, and possibly inspired to pull out that dusty calculator and give it a go. Who knows? You might just uncover the secret to the universe—or at least the secret to calculating the number of hours you’ve wasted watching reruns of classic sitcoms.

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