Takes a $#!&&!ng and Keeps on Ticking

This post is about my love affair with the HP-12C. :) This morning, I wanted to download a manual for my HP-12C, Hewlett-Packard's mainstay business calculator, and stumbled upon The Museum of HP Calculators, an interesting little website that has pages (photos, manuals, etc.) for various HP calculators that have been sold over the years. For the past 20 years, I've used a grand total of 3 HP calculators - two 12C's and one 18C...there is nothing better.

The HP Museum's webpage on the 12C has an interesting story that deserves more exposure:

One HP-12C was used by a zoo keeper to calculate feed mixtures. The zoo keeper dropped the calculator and it was consumed by a hippopotamus. The calculator survived the hippo's digestive process as well as the washing that followed.

Which makes one wonder, why would anyone be interested in continuing to use any calculator that's been covered in hippopotamus shit? :)

Anyhoo... The 12C is simply a great calculator. My current calculator has followed me through all my travels to Europe and Asia, and the batteries for it died only last week after Allah (swt) knows how many years of usage. If you're a business person or business student, the only calculator you should remotely consider buying is the 12C.

[Note: This post has not been sponsored in any way by Hewlett-Packard. However, if they want to give me a new 18C, I'd gladly take one. ;) ]