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Electronics Poetry: Unpopular Electronics
August 1959 Popular Electronics

August 1959 Popular Electronics

August 1959 Popular Electronics Cover - RF CafeTable of Contents

Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Popular Electronics, published October 1954 - April 1985. All copyrights are hereby acknowledged.

You would be hard pressed to find an electronics magazine today that included poetry as part of its typical features. I have published pages from the ARRL's QST magazine from the 1940s that had poems. Of course, the theme of the poems is almost always humor or parody, but poetry was not then as much of an unknown / unpracticed art by the general populace as it appears to be today. Anyway, enjoy the jovial rhymes here from the August 1959 issue of Popular Electronics magazine. Frequent comic contributor Carl Kohler provides the illustrations for the rhymes of Saunder Harris.

Here are a few other electronics-themed poems: A Radioman's Nightmare, The Day Before Christmas, Sonnet of a Ham, Unpopular Electronics, Ode to a New Rig, Power Supply, More "Tower" to You, Requiem, Pre-Radio, What Is It?, Ravin

Other Carl Kohler masterpieces: "Live Wire with a Loot Locator," June 1969, "The Great Electron-Pedantic Project," "Dig That Reel Flat Response," "I Married a Superheterodyne," "Unpopular Electronics," "Operation Chaos," "Thin Air, My Foot," "High Tide in the Tweeter," "The R/C Cloud," "Hi-Fi Guest List," "Kool-Keeping Kwiz ," "Boner Box," and "McWatts." Also, be sure to read "Carl Kohler's Life & Times per Son, Christoverre."

Unpopular Electronics

Poems by Saunder Harris

Cartoons by Carl Kohler

Electronics poem #1 from 1959 Popular Electronics - RF Cafe

Cornelius Cathode, electronics misfit,

Saved up his dough and bought him a kit,

Did away with instructions; "For beginners," said he,

"I know what I'm doing, just watch me and see."

He finished in jig time, plugged the thing in.

Smoke, fire and sparks burned off his smug grin.

Electronics poem #2 from 1959 Popular Electronics - RF Cafe

Percival Prod paid no heed,

To where he placed the meter lead,

To where he set the meter switch,

Red or black, no matter which.

Now pity poor Perc who repents his sin,

With the meter needle wrapped 'round the pin.

Unpopular Electronics from 1959 Popular Electronics - RF Cafe

Electronics poem #3 from 1959 Popular Electronics - RF Cafe

Timothy Twerp was most astounded,

When what he thought was-WASN'T grounded.

In fact, one could say, he was really transfixed

With his thumb on pin 3 of a live 6L6.

Electronics poem #4 from 1959 Popular Electronics - RF Cafe

A wizard at wireless named Wallace McGee,

Never thought he'd be caught by the old FCC;

But to his surprise, they received him quite well.

Unlicensed, his choice was a fine or a cell.

 

 

Posted May 30, 2023
(updated from original post on 1/23/2012)

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