Those machines were a profit center all by themselves. The bottom opened up and there were stocked the most popular tubes. It was all self service so when you found a bad tube you just picked up a new one, paid for it, and went home and plugged it in.

They could be placed anywhere there was a clear view from the cash register.

To the store owner it was just leave it there, plug it in, and someone came around and restocked it now and then. The profit on a tube was about 20% which was pretty good money for really doing nothing but dusting it off now and then.

Sort of like RedBox today.

Kids using video devices excessivly may not be learning enough of the general things involved in functioning. When and if it reaches the addictive stage a parent may be remiss by not stepping in.

Personally I would rather see a child doing almost anything else.

Surpassed my fathers level of mechanical skill moons ago. He calls me when he needs something done on his car(s). Problem is finding the time to work on it... :(

Its what allows me to keep the toys in my sig running at a cost where I can afford to keep them.

More on point - worked my way up on the wrenching food-chain, and now am playing with some Italian stuff during my free time.

When I was a little kid about 4, my grandmother used to get me to do stuff like replace the battery in her transistor radio (one of the first portables made).
It sparked my interest in how things worked.
A few years later I remember pulling my sisters dolls to bits to find out how they made a "mommy" noise when they were put down. Got into heaps of trouble for that.
I had my first car at the age of 12. Just for playing on the farm.
Had to fix it & keep it going so it wasnt sent for scrap metal.
In recent years over here in the cities they have started pre-apprentice studies for teenagers so that if they want to do an apprenticeship at least they know what way to turn a screw to undo it.
Probably kids on farms get much more exposure to mechanical things & so develop an interest.
Its way too easy for a parent to sit a young child in front of the idiot box.

My oldest daughter helped me, at the age of 5, in the garage when I was building my first drag car. She's capable of doing oil changes, brakes, and exhaust on her own, but won't...she has nails now. LOL

My younger daughter has helped me for years around the house and wiht vehicle maintenance...she'll be the same as her sister soon.

My son is my shadow on everything I do around the home or the rentals. We'll be starting a project tomorrow on the front porch, tearing off the old carpet, sanding the wood, and refinishing all of it.

My kids are well experienced with helping me on projects

I wouldn't necessarily blame video games; its also the current mentality towards young people's education.

I'm fairly young, 25, and was fortunate that my school had a shop program at all. I didn't take a single shop class until my Senior year, because before I was too concerned with what others thought. Learning mechanics and other trades meant you weren't on the college track and going to be successful like all the other kids taking advanced math, physics, chemistry, etc.

Schools are cutting, even abandoning their shop programs altogether, turning into nothing but a college prep school. Just about every kid tries to fit that mold because its what is expected by their peers, teachers, and parents. I was one of those who had no business being in college, but suffered through and got my degree anyway. I would have been much better off learning a trade or apprenticing at businesses I found interesting.

My father raced motorcycles, and during injuries or downtime would take apart his bikes to every nut and bolt and rebuild them. He never taught me any of that. Other than that one class in High School, I had not really turned a wrench. People thought my car was trouble prone because I would open the hood and check on things at every fill up.

Today I had to pay $66 to diagnose the check engine light for my 1996 C36 at the dealer. My mechanic didn't have the software for that specific model to properly diagnose it, and this car is going to be old enough to vote in a few years.

I'll bet you own that machine............:D

I snapped that picture 5 minutes before I posted it:D

Wanna buy it? ;)

I KNEW IT!!

Just need to start them young :D

skifte dekk - YouTube

Gilbert Erector set--the one with the VERY high torque 120V electric motor--with the exposed gears--no wimpy battery powered-will stall if you put your finger in it- motor.
I built a lot of stuff with that. Good toy. Learned a lot.

I actually still use it to fix console stereos.

I bet my oldest daughter can kick your daughters ass. :eek::D:D:D

Neat machine to test tubes with.

Thats awesome! I know a friend of mine is going to love that. I just emailed him the picture!

Some comments on topics of this thread (I'm 24):

Video games, I would say are not entirely responsible. Like TylerH said, attitude is a big one. Both of the parents and society. The big push towards college... the removal of trade type classes in high school.. My high school had a shop..up until they renovated, the space was converted into a study hall and art room. Not a lot of kids get the opportunity or exposure to the mechanical world. I bet if you exposed them to these things they would take up interest..at least some would. Maybe not all.

Certain video games can be more educational than others (RTS vs FPS). As it was mentioned in earlier a lot of video games of the late 90s were great for puzzles (Myst) and strategy (really the starting place of the PC RTS, Starcraft, C&C series,etc). Sadly much of this is gone in today's PC game world. I've watched several awesome franchises get dumbed down--C&C series games, Supreme Commander series, Empire Earth--and its annoying. I like my RTS complicated and involved. I like having to figure out how to counter the computer's attacks. I like having a boat load of options or the ability to customize everything. Now, I think the RTS genre is slowly dying. PC game development (at least on a technical--push the boundaries level) has been stalled for the past few years.

I recently had an interview with a company up near Cleveland, OH and I was talking to their senior engineer. We were discussing education and the idea of "well rounded" back in his day, it meant something much different. You were expected to out into the real world and work with your hands as well as your brains.

Today I think there is less emphasis on working with you hands and more emphasis on going to college and getting a degree. And a problem with just getting a degree is, it can be rather expensive to the point where it forces you into getting a degree that is 'profitable' rather than one that is more interesting to you. Tuition has changed drastically in the past 30 years or so. I've read stories where people, back in the day, were able to work minimum wage jobs and afford to pay a semesters tuition.