Honeywell's Kitchen Computer remembered

The $62,550 machine no one bought

By Austin Modine • Get more from this author

Posted in Odds and Sods, 27th November 2008 04:52 GMT

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Instant Holiday Promotion

Honeywell had pitched the machines for industry, mathematics, medical, scientific research, and other advanced uses – but apparently Nieman Marcus thought they could possibly have a place in the kitchen. What was billed as a "writing table" became a kitchen cutting-board and voilà -- instant holiday promotion!

The advertisement reads:

If she can only cook as well as Honeywell can compute
"Her soufflés are supreme, her meal planning a challenge? She's what the Honeywell people had in mind when they devised our Kitchen Computer. She'll learn to program it with a cross-reference to her favorite recipes by N-M's own Helen Corbitt. Then by simply pushing a few buttons obtain a complete menu organized around the entrée. And if she pales at reckoning her lunch tabs, she can program it to balance the family checkbook.

In 1952, Nieman Marcus introduced a tradition of listing extravagant gifts on its Christmas catalog. Since then, it's advertised obnoxious luxuries like a toy tiger covered in diamonds, a golden toilet seat, and a robe worn by a Chinese emperor in 1770.

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