Elektro is the nickname of eight robots built by Westinghouse in Mansfield, Ohio between 1937 and 1938. Seven feet tall, weighing 300 pounds, humanoid in appearance, it could walk, talk (using a 78-rpm record player), and move its head and arms. It was on exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair. It reappeared at that fair in 1940, with "Sparko", a robot dog that could bark, sit, and beg. A humanoid robot playing the trumpet In practical usage, a robot is a mechanical device which performs automated tasks, either according to direct human supervision, a pre-defined program or, a set of general guidelines, using artificial intelligence techniques. ... Westinghouse logo (designed by Paul Rand) The Westinghouse Electric Company, headquartered in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, is an organization founded by George Westinghouse in 1886. ... Downtown Mansfield Mansfield is a city located in Richland County, Ohio. ... 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Edison cylinder phonograph from about 1899 The phonograph, or gramophone, was the most common device for playing recorded sound from the 1870s through the 1980s. ... The 1939 New York Worlds Fair, located where Flushing Meadows-Corona Park is now (and where the 1964 New York Worlds Fair was held), was one of the largest worlds fairs of all time. ...

Elektro toured North America in 1950 in promotional appearances for Westinghouse, and was displayed at Palisades Park in Oceanside, California in the late fifties and early sixties. It also appeared as "Thinko", in a 1960 film, Sex Kittens Go to College (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0054298/), which starred Mamie Van Doren and Tuesday Weld. Events January January 5 - US Senator Estes Kefauver introduces a resolution calling for examination of organized crime in the USA January 6 - The United Kingdom recognizes the Peoples Republic of China. ... Oceanside is a city in San Diego County, California, north of the city of San Diego. ... Events and trends Technology United States tests the first fusion bomb. ... Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s - 1960s - 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Years: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around the world. ... See also: 1959 in film 1960 1961 in film 1950s in film 1960s in film years in film film Events April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film August 10 - Filming of West Side Story begins. ... Mamie Van Doren (born February 6, 1931) is a American actress and sex symbol. ... Tuesday Weld, born August 27, 1943, is an American film actress. ...

Only one still exists. It was on exhibit in the fall of 2004 at the Mansfield Memorial Museum (http://www.mansfieldtourism.com/CVB_Site/Pages/electro.htm).

External links

• Robot is what the future used to look like (http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1107955817117540.xml), a February 2005 article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer
• Photo and document gallery (http://www.maser.org/k8rt/) from a former Westinghouse employee
• Amusing Elektro commentary (http://davidszondy.com/future/robot/elektro1.htm)