Huge original computer is still around

[Hornbein]

The Aiken calculator still exists at Harvard, or at least it did in 1978. I happened across it one day in the lobby of one of the science buildings. No one else was around.

It has a drive shaft with a universal joint, like one would expect on a tractor.

 

[FactChecker]

The drive shaft is the most vulnerable part of any computer. ;-)

 

[Hornbein]

Input and output on paper tape.

 

[Baluncore]

It is still extant, but a couple of miles away.
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/07/harvards-mark-1-finds-its-new-home/

 

[Hornbein]

The most amazing mechanical things I've seen are in the Toyota museum in Nagoya. The coolest looms and robots are retired to this place where they are maintained so that they are all still functional.

 

[sbrothy]

Ironic that a modern smartphone is more powerful. Moore didn’t live in vain