One of the most delightful "tech" stories I've read on Gizmag/NewAtlas over the past many years. Bringing the old inventiveness up to the 21st century tech. Keep it up! :)
Doc R

I love these things, I have 7 in my collection, the oldest is a type I made in 1948.
The only down side in owning a Curta is finding someone that has the skill to survice them.

yep, those things are amazing wle

That was a fascinating journey through history, engineering and one man's perseverance.

This is a very important document in the history of calculation. There should be a similar one for the Slide Rule.
The advent of the HP41CX signaled the end of the slide rule which held sway for so many centuries. And a huge user group developed internationally comprising many thousands under the guidance of Richard Nelson and his monthly publication on the PPC (Programmable Personal Computer).
The core group of that group still exists and Warren Furlow from Atlanta is the gatekeeper of the 8400 programs submitted and published covering all the disciplines of science from Medicine, Engineering, Physics, flight, Architecture and on.
And then now there is the i41CX+ which was developed by Antonio Lagana, a former GMI, University of Michigan Science Engineer, and Quantum Physicist from the University of Adelaide.
http://alsoftiphone.com/i41CXplus/
The power of this little handheld instrument stretches credulity. The original was used in the early Space Vehicle programs to calculate burn times to position the Satellite for the return to the earth.
When the iPhone arrived it was the second best seller in iTunes during the second week and it continues today despite Apple's attempt to disparage it since Steve declared no Emulators. Silly boy.
This remains the finest calculator in the world and now with CAS can do all sorts of plots in 3D
And this is the calculator that students should be learning their math on in developing their own programs.
It's just amazing that Giz never mentioned it but perhaps it was our fault for not knowing how to go through the rigamarole to make a submission.
The 3D plots are stunning and the built in HPkeyfunky lanugage is the simplest ever developed to write programs. The CAS module is different.
This is the instrument that all students from around the world should be using for their introduction in programming in addition to the special tricks of the i41.
There is the possibility that it will be implemented in the Detroit Public School System.

I still have my Type II that I bought around 1967 for $165; it still works fine. I used it on many sports car rallyes and through engineering school. I was the only one in my classes who had one, and in a quiet exam room with everyone using their slide rules, it was almost like psychological warfare to hear my Curta cranking away. A brilliant mechanical device. I normally use my HP calculator (or Excel) now, but sometimes I take the Curta out just for the tactile delight of using it.

Great story

That read like an article from damninteresting, I really enjoyed it. Hope to see articles like this more often in the future.

Wonderful story of remarkable achievement by a genius. Too bad Mr. Herzstark isn't alive today, imagine what he could invent with the aid of today's technology.

Thanks for the great story on the history of the Curta. I am the proud owner of one of the last ones made, a type II which I purchased around 1973 for about $135 and used in sports car rallies, but I was unaware of the history. The type II has an 11 digit input, a 15 digit answer dial, and an 8 digit dial that counts the crank turns. Here is how to use it for rally navigation: In the first for digits of the input