topic Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school? in Community Chat

Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

Jo1313 — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 23:04:39 GMT

I found mine in the bottom of a box recently..I could never do it...I guess I never threw it away..because my Dad said it was expensive.

Like that was going to help me figure it out..LOL

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

ibook — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 23:21:56 GMT

yup....that was all there was in my day. Didn't get just an adding calculator until after college, grad school and three years of teaching! I'm 80.

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

LuvSoCal — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 23:22:13 GMT

@Jo1313 I can still picture my dad studying at the dining room table for upcoming exams. He was a wiz at using a slide rule. This was back in the 60s when I was in grade school.

Thankfully, they were out of vogue by the time I got a little older and I never had to learn how to use one. Like you, it made no sense to me.

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

haddon9 — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:17 GMT

I never took the type of classes that required one. I was terrible at math!

DH though did and he became an engineer. I think he might have used one early in his career.

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

KailaS — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:29:21 GMT

@ibook wrote:
yup....that was all there was in my day. Didn't get just an adding calculator until after college, grad school and three years of teaching! I'm 80.

ibook,
I will be 79 tomorrow. I was a science and math nerd, so I used a slide rule in some of my advanced college classes. I did not get a calculator until long after I earned several college degrees.

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

sunshine45 — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:36:26 GMT

yes, even though calculators were available then (texas instruments), we had to learn to use a slide rule in high school in the late 70s.

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

shoekitty — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 01:03:19 GMT

@Jo1313 I asked my husband because he saved his old slideruler, along with his first calculator. He worked as engineer in aerospace industry. He said when he went in service in 1967 they were using slide rulers. Some even used abacus. When he came back from service in 1971, and went to work ,..they were still using them. He said around 1972 or so, they came out with the calculator. He said then they slowly transitioned to the calculator (around 1973), as they could afford them. The first weren't electric, they were battery operated!! I think they bought their own. He said he remembered his first calculator was National Semiconductor, and cost 25 bux. That amount was one quarter of his weekly pay at the time lol. At that time they did all drafting at the table with pens, inks and pencils, and people smoked at their stations lol...we come a long way baby! I am 78...I think some of things in this world have gone south since I was a kid...but for the most part, we have so mny new things. So convenient. Can any of you here imagine life without internet? I might get pretty darned bored!!!! He did just mention he isn't sure he could remember slide rule, they were complicated.... and so small. He had to put his slide ruler under the desk magnifier. They had specific slide rules for different occupations or needs.

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

Sooner — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:51:34 GMT

My husband was the last student to use a slide rule on a math test in college. The teacher allowed him to because he couldn't afford a TRS calculator. He finished first! Time and grade.

I used one sizing pictures in my job. Also a "picture wheel" which was just a round one.

I'm glad to see kids going back to books and hand writing as part of their education! I think it is a needed part of brain function.

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

Neetgal2 — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:56:59 GMT

No, I never did. Never had a class that required it. I was in high school in the 60's. Took business education, became a secretary and to college, in the evenings to become an accountant!

I was probably lucky not to use one, never quite understood people talking about them. I was very proficient using a calculator and numeric keypad.

I am sure I could type as fast as Rosemary Woods!

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

SilleeMee — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 01:02:16 GMT

Not a slide rule but my mom used an abacus for most of her entire life. She passed in 1998 and was still using an abacus to do her simple math with it back then. I bought her a nice electronic calculator but I found it in the back of a drawer one day. She told me that her abacus was faster for her. 🤷

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

JeanLouiseFinch — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 01:03:59 GMT

I had one, couldn't understand how to use it, but at least I looked smart. LOL

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

shoekitty — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 01:11:30 GMT

@SilleeMee my husband said there was an older Head engineer, highly revered for his work in their dept. He was Chinese, and used an Abacus clear into late 80's and early 1990's, when he retired. They often had him calculate on abacus, and then compare to the new calculator. He was on the money. He didn't use it always. But he used slide rule and abacus...I don't think he liked calculator lol

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

kitcat51 — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 01:29:15 GMT

yes.

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

RescueLover — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 01:38:06 GMT

Never heard of a slide ruler. Is it like a tape measure ?

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

Sakuya — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 01:41:03 GMT

A slide ruler is before my time. I have only heard of it because it was in the movie The Right Stuff. Until this thread I didn't know it was used like a calculator.

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

FranandZoe — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 02:21:55 GMT

I loved math but had a hard time with the slide rule.

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

drizzellla — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 02:29:58 GMT

@LuvSoCal wrote:
@Jo1313 I can still picture my dad studying at the dining room table for upcoming exams. He was a wiz at using a slide rule. This was back in the 60s when I was in grade school.

Thankfully, they were out of vogue by the time I got a little older and I never had to learn how to use one. Like you, it made no sense to me.

I also watched my Dad frequently using a slide rule. When I was cleaning out their house after my parents died, I found no less than 12 slide rules. All kinds of sizes. He even had a circular one.

I never learned or tried to learn. By the time my classes in school needed more advanced calculations - I had a calculator.

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

mrshckynut — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 02:37:07 GMT

@drizzellla no

mrshckynut

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

Desertdi — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 10:14:54 GMT

Yes, in early grammar school. I was mathematically challenged. I needed help! (This was before hand-held calculators).

Re: Did you ever use a Slide Ruler in school?

They CallMe MRWILKES — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 08:26:13 GMT

Oh yes! Beginning in high school physics.

After that, it was required for college chemistry and physics. Hand held calculators were still not allowed!