File this under Toys I Haven’t Thought About in, Like, Forever: the Little Professor! I had one of these as a lad. It was made by Texas Instruments in the late ’70s and early ’80s. Instead of an LCD it had a display backed by a row of red LEDs. The yellow buttons were stiff and made a satisfying click when pressed. Note that it looks like a calculator but it’s not (there’s no “=” button); it’s a game that throws up a series of math problems that need to be solved. Ultimately, though, I don’t think the Professor made me enjoy math any more than I already did (and still so).
See also my top-five “kit” toys and my memories of the Fisher-Price Chatter Telephone, which I’ve noticed makes an appearance in Toy Story 3.
(photo via The Science Museum)