'Wall Street's Cult Calculator' And A Battery That Lasted 40 Years: Former Goldman Chief Sparks Nostalgia

Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein sparked some tech nostalgia with a photo of a calculator made by HP Inc HPQ four decades ago.

What Happened: “The battery just ran out on my HP12C. Never gave it much thought, but I've used this calculator for 40 years,” Blankfein tweeted. “Bet not many other consumer electronic devices out today will have that kind of run!”

His tweet elicited a response from the official HP handle: “Sum things just add up. 8×5 years is amazing!”

“This calculator is one of those things that reminds me of my father because he used the same one during his finance career,” said William McNulty, who runs a logistics company, based on his Twitter profile.

“Still have the one my accountant Dad gave to me!!!,” said Liz Rappaport, an editor for the Wall Street Journal.

Why It Matters: First introduced in 1981, the HP 12c is considered HP’s longest and best-selling product. A basic version costs $49.99 today, according to HP’s online store.

The 12c is slim, black and gold, and rectangular, just over five inches wide by three inches high. It uses an unusual operating system called “Reverse Polish Notation” that doesn’t need parentheses or equal signs to do long calculations faster, according to the Journal, which had labeled it as “Wall Street’s cult calculator.”

Although HP introduced an app avatar for both iPhone and Android, its popularity does not seem to have waned.

According to HP, the 12c remains a vital tool in the lives of finance and business professionals, and is one of only two calculators permitted for use during financial professional certification exams.

See Also: Increase Your iPhone Battery Life With This Simple Hack