Computer Pioneer.

Computer Pioneer.

This story happened in October of 1957 the month and the year the whole world was inspired by new developments in scenes and space explorations. The USSR lunched the first in a history of mankind manmade satellite - Sputnik. Sputnik was flying over the earth and with its beeps lets everybody know that humans on the planet earth were ready for something extraordinary, which was never done before.

October of 1957, Ohio State Psychiatric ward at Dayton Ohio. The TV which was recently purchased for money donated by the locale police pricing went missing, which caused the uproar among the local residents of the ward. For last month they become accustomed watching their favorite I love Lucy on CBS and everyone patently waited for a whole week if Lucy will let Ricky know about her mystery appearance on a his show. The show was starting in a half an hour but was no TV in a lounge. Tension was raising and any minute would reach a boiling point. In a second everyone forgot about TV, then ward director came in to the lounge and with his monotone voice asked if anybody took his typewriter – it went missing and Nurse Sophia spent whole day running around the building and looking for it. I am asking last time if anyone took my typewriter – repeated Dr. Nisboume. The room went quiet, you could even hear train passing by on Dayton Central located 10 miles away. OK no TV for a week – said Dr. Nisboume. Good at list they gonna get us new TV in a week – someone whispered from the crowd. What, is TV missing too – Dr. Nisboume was not happy. Yes – in a one voice answered residents of the facility.


On a next day TV was found as well as a typewriter, both of them were tightly attached to each other with a hefty amount of the Ducke tape warped around them. Local resident Tommy was showing his constriction and letting everybody know about his latest invention which would leave Russians in a dust with their stupid Sputnik. Tommy was so exited that he even did not noticed angry attitude toward him from the crowd gathering around. You know, I have something great – said Tommy. It is a typewriter with a TV attached to it , you will push the letters on a machine and they should appear on the screen – continued Tommy. The only thing I don’t know how to link both of them together to do that , the tape was best solution for prototype for right now. The other thing I would like to have Icons on a screen, I am not religious, but having whole bunch of them on a screen would be pretty. So far it was reasonable enough for a local psychos as well as doctor Nisbaume. They even were ready forgive Tommy for his misbehaving. But what, Tommy said next did not play well even in Psychiatric ward. I want mice to open and close windows – happily said Tommy.

Tommy was transferred to different facility with no windows. All window frames at current facility were taped, and the mice exterminators were invited to ward for complete check of the building.


The Tommy’s idea sounded crazy 50 years ago,
But is it crazy now?