UCLA’s 1948 Mechanical Computer Was Simply Gorgeous To Watch in Action

The mechanical computers of yesterday may have been enormous, difficult to program, and amazingly clunky—but they sure were beautiful to watch in action. Released theatrically by Popular Science on August 6, 1948, this short film played before Paramount Pictures movies and demonstrated to the public how computers were freeing "research of old limitations" and provided "stimulus for unprecedented technical advancements." For those watching in darkened theaters, though, it was mostly just gorgeously choreographed machinery.

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