Robot Messenger Displays Person-to-Person Notes In Public (Aug, 1935)
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Aug, 1935
Buy on Ebay
In the mid ’30s everything was a robot.
Robot Messenger Displays Person-to-Person Notes In Public
TO AID persons who wish to make or cancel appointments or inform friends of their whereabouts, a robot message carrier has been introduced in London, England.
Known as the “notificator,” the new machine is installed in streets, stores, railroad stations or other public places where individuals may leave messages for friends.
The user walks up on a small platform in front of the machine, writes a brief message on a continuous strip of paper and drops a coin in the slot. The inscription moves up behind a glass panel where it remains in public view for at least two hours so that the person for whom it is intended may have sufficient time to observe the note at the appointed place. The machine is similar in appearance to a candy-vending device.
Inventions that haven’t lasted…
This one is for samma. Here are some things that don’t belong on the inventor spot website I don’t think. Quite an amusing and interesting collection!…
Trackback by Anonymous — June 21, 2006 @ 8:28 pm
What about a version for instant messaging? Two or more people would stand beside each other and write notes like crazy. Automatic chat log and user-defined emoticons too. What more could you ask for?
Actually the system of writing publicly visible notes to specific people is still being used to some degree at conferences. For sure the scope is so much more limited, but except that a machine is not used, the communication method as such is still being used.
Comment by Anders Borg — July 24, 2006 @ 6:16 am
[...] de vos amis autour d’un feu de camp sur le bord d’un lac. [ via Pasta&Vinegar, Modern Mechanix [...]
Pingback by LaBlogAtoire » Archive du blog » L’ancêtre de Twitter — June 25, 2007 @ 8:39 pm
[...] los orÃgenes de Twitter: en el Londres de 1935, el “notificator“, un aparatito tipo máquina de vending con un rollo de papel continuo en el que la gente [...]
Pingback by Los orÃgenes de Twitter » El Blog de Enrique Dans — June 25, 2007 @ 11:57 pm
[...] Modern Mechanix blogs a robotic message display for person-to-person notes in public from the 1930s. Write a note, pay a small fee and the message moves up behind the window to be on display for 2 hours. I love the name, “the notificator”. [...]
Pingback by In a New Box. » — June 26, 2007 @ 1:21 am
[...] Texto completo de la imagen. [...]
Pingback by TISCAR .:. Periodismo -:- Blogs -:- Educación » El Twitter analógico de los años 30 — June 27, 2007 @ 1:15 am
Ye olde timey robot message board …
The Notificator, featured in the August 1935 issue of Modern Mechanix, was designed for installation in public spaces so that individuals may leave messages for each other. In a short MobHappy post, Russell Buckley briefly puts it in the context of to…
Trackback by Boing Boing — July 5, 2007 @ 9:43 am
[...] microblogging in the 30s: this “robotic†messenger display aims at “TO AID persons who wish to make or cancel appointments or inform friends of their [...]
Pingback by digital in London » Blog Archive » Twitter 1930’s style — September 20, 2007 @ 8:40 am
[...] Via: EnriqueDans.com / ModernMechanix.com [...]
Pingback by Twitter nacio en Agosto de 1935 — December 15, 2007 @ 1:45 pm
[...] Modern Mechanix - Robot Messenger Displays Person-to-Person Notes In Public TO AID persons who wish to make or cancel appointments or inform friends of their whereabouts, a robot message carrier has been introduced in London, England.. the new machine is installed in public places where individuals may leave messages for friends” (tags: history twitter retro robots communication asynchronous messaging via:roome) [...]
Pingback by links for 2008-01-19 — January 18, 2008 @ 4:35 pm
What’s wrong with a cork board and thumbatacks, or a random wall spot and some tape?
If you offer a pay service, it’s essential not to duplicate a free one…
Comment by nlpnt — January 31, 2008 @ 4:57 pm
[...] came across this story this morning about a person-to-person messenger invented in 1935 and filed under "useless technology". In those days people who knew one [...]
Pingback by Who needs Twitter? by Stormhoek — April 15, 2008 @ 5:35 am
[...] What a difference 73 years of technology makes! Some UX improvements: Twitter is now free, location-independent, and messages can be viewed longer than two hours! via: Modern Mechanix [...]
Pingback by The Notificator: What Twitter was like in 1935… | SensoryMetrics: re-inventing the User eXperience — July 3, 2008 @ 11:43 am
[...] Robot Messenger Displays Person-to-Person Notes In Public (Modern Mechanix, August 1935) [...]
Pingback by Robot Messenger Displays Person-to-Person Notes In Public (Modern Mechanix, August 1935) — omglog — August 13, 2008 @ 12:38 pm