🚀 go-pugleaf

The recent article about the East German state computer manufacturer
Robotron being a toy company <sorry, the original article has been
removed from our system due to lack of disk-space, so no references>,
rang a distant bell in my memory.

Though I can't confirm the original posting, a friend from the GDR
once told me that Robotron's main shop in the prestigious Yuri-
Gagarin-Strasse in Eisenach (where the factory is) has in its window
display piezo-electric gas lighters and

  HAND POWERED BREAD SLICING MACHINES :-)

This is because all East German companies are required by law to
produce 15% of their output (or some such proportion) in a form
useful for the majority of the population. I won't go into the
details why, as this isn't sci.econ, but it seems as if toys would
fit into this category (probably more than a bread slicer).

Of course, IBM make pretty crappy typewriters, too (IMHO) :-)
-- 
                    Jim Skea :jimsk@uk.ac.susx.syma
       (or for all those who drive on the wrong side of the road)
                 Jim Skea :ji...@syma.susx.ac.uk (JANET)