Introduced in 1954, this was the first plastic mechanical man-shaped robot. The hand control had a handle to turn that made him walk, and he was steerable. His eyes lit up and his arms swung as he walked. A phonograph record allowed him to talk. The toy was a great hit and is still popular today. More here at Robots and Androids.
I got one of these for Christmas probably around 1957 or so. I drove my mother crazy cranking the handle of the phonograph. “I’m Robert the robot, mechanical man, drive me and steer me wherever you can “. The word mechanical sounded like “mee-kanicle”
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting.
The link says “ride me” but I could swear he said “ drive me”. But then, I wear hearing aids now…Drive me makes more sense because you could never ride him. I’m sticking with “drive me”.
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly, I don't see a youtube with the sound bite:-)
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