I've just heard on the news that Andre Cassagnes, the French inventor of the Etch-A-Sketch, has died at the age of 86. Well, you have to admire this bloke. He made millions out of inventing something that didn't work very well and offered about ten minutes of fun before being consigned to the attic.
For the record, I would like it to be known that the cheap post-war German version I was acquainted with in my teenage years was no more than two postcard-sized pieces of cardboard clamped together at the edges which formed a cut-out frame for a coated surface on which to scribble. It was known as "Wunderblock" - how wunderbar! - and is described here.
I also would like it to be known that my anatomical knowledge at that time would never have enabled me to produce drawings like the one above.
Also, we had no attic.
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an old friend.
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