Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

World Service,03 Feb 2024,9 mins

A pocket-size history of the calculator

More or Less

Available for over a year

How was the calculator invented? How did it go from something the size of a table to something that could be carried in your pocket, the must-have gadget of the 1970’s and 80’s? Tim Harford unpicks the history of the calculator with Keith Houston, author of Empire of the Sum: The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Debbie Richford Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Series Producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Hal Haines Editor: Richard Vadon (Technology evolution: old metal mechanical calculator 1930s, vintage plastic calculator 1970s, modern digital smartphone calculator 2000s. Credit: Getty Images)

Programme Website
More episodes