Edmund Scientific

During the 1960s, Edmund Scientific offered a subscription program where, for a modest fee, they would periodically mail you science kits. Each kit focused on a specific subject—electricity, optics, astronomy, radio, and more—and included components for building projects and conducting experiments. The optics kit, for example, contained everything needed to assemble a working microscope. Many items could be repurposed for other experiments; the astronomy kit even included parts that allowed the microscope to be converted into a telescope.

Those kits fueled my imagination. They made me curious about every subject I encountered and pushed me to experiment. I used the components to build all sorts of contraptions they were never intended for. My two sisters can confirm that some of my inventions were occasionally alarming—and sometimes painful. At school, a few of my creations earned me a trip to the principal’s office.

That early tinkering never left me. Even today, I’m always adapting things—especially computer applications—to do tasks far beyond their original purpose.