ANSWERS: 2
  • Yes, we had one in front of our GNC for many years. It's been gone for a little while now, but I know that they did infact once exist.
  • In their original form these machines were quite crude. A plummy voice recorded in separate concentric bands around a shellac phonograph record announced your weight. Whereas on a conventional scale your weight drove the pointer over a dial, on these machines it determined the landing position of the needle over the disc. "One at a time please!" was the petulant response if you exceeded the maximum weight. They were made from the early 1930's when all sorts of new applications were being found for the "talking machine". Both Charles Ahrens and the British Automatic Co. Ltd. made them, as did various manufacturers in America. Very few of these mechanical marvels have survived although electronic speaking domestic scales are available today. The dubious merit of having your weight announced to all and sundry together with more stringent standards for weights and measures imposed by HM Customs and Excise, contributed to their demise. They could not be calibrated as accurately as other scales. N F Simpson's absurdist play "One Way Pendulum" featured a trained chorus of Speak-Your-Weight machines. http://www.pennymachines.co.uk contains a wealth of information about old British mechanical slot machines.

Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC

Answerbag | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy