[0:00]Once, this was called the brain of the office, the mighty machine that powered the heart of the 20th century workplace, the comptometer.
[0:06]Covered with rows of number keys, it looked nothing like the calculators we know today.
[0:10]Pressing a key sent gears and levers spinning inside, instantly giving you the sum.
[0:15]The best part, it didn't need electricity, made only of gears, springs, and levers.
[0:19]Every press of a finger powered the entire mechanism, turning the wheels that displayed the numbers.
[0:25]In other words, human fingertips were the engine. For decades, Comptometer ruled banks, shops and factory offices.
[0:32]But once electronic calculators arrived, this mechanical beast was pushed aside, into museums almost overnight.
