I'm a biomedical and electrical engineer with interests in information theory, complexity, evolution, genetics, signal processing, IndieWeb, theoretical mathematics, and big history.
I'm also a talent manager-producer-publisher in the entertainment industry with expertise in representation, distribution, finance, production, content delivery, and new media.
Tonight, I noticed you can’t spell typewriter in German without IBM: SchreIBMaschinen. Surely that ran across someone’s mind before in an advertising campaign, right?
Shohei Ohtani, a designated hitter and pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is one of the biggest superstars in baseball right now. If you’re Jose Siri on the Los Angeles Angels, you know that to get Ohtani out, you’re going to need some serious notes on an index card to score the out. The problem is, what do you do when the hit happens on the first pitch, and you’re not quite ready?
My screen captures from the Angels at Dodgers’ baseball game at UNIQLO Field in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 7, 2026 at the bottom of the first inning. Pitcher Jose Soriano faces batter Shohei Ohtani who, on the first pitch, flies out (F8) to Jose Siri in center field. Siri has all the data and skill he needs.
Only in LA?!?
That looks like a 4×6 inch index card right?
On why an index card is an important piece of baseball equipment
Solid one-handed catch because he’s got his scouting data on a card in his other hand.How do you throw the baseball back when your right hand is occupied?
I’ve got the card out, I may as well study for the next batter.Siri back in ready position. He won’t be “caught out” for the next batter.
Clicky-clack, we are bringing the typewriters back on Saturday, June 27, from 12 pm to 5 pm, in celebration of National Typewriter Day!
Experience the timeless beauty of typewriters as you test your speed and precision in a typewriter contest, hear from typewriter experts, join in the collaborative process of writing “never-ending tales” on vintage typewriters, look for hidden gems in our scavenger hunt, and much more.
Local vendors and makers are offering typo-o-grams, original poetry, themed merch, retro treasures, hand-crafted greeting cards, and even fully working typewriters for sale. Guests can bring their own typewriter to show, share, use, or get an estimate for repair.
There’s something uniquely inspiring about the sound and feel of these classic machines! Special thanks to Typewriter Connection, our event co-host.
Tickets are $15 for adults, or $12 for students/seniors.
Last year’s event was fantastic, so I’m looking forward to all the things on “tap, tap, tap” for this year. Come and celebrate National Typewriter Day in Southern California.
The Stanley Kramer comedy classic film It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (United Artists, 1963) has a handful of Royal KMG typewriters featured in the office settings at police stations throughout the film. The KMG was Royal’s top-of-the-line office standard machine and was manufactured from 1949 to 1952 before being replaced by the Royal HH (1952 to 1957) and the Royal FP (1957to 1962). By the time the film premiered in November of 1963, the newest desktop manual would have been the Royal Empress (1962-1966).
The featured Royal KMG of the film sits in the center of Capt. T. G. Culpeper’s (portrayed by Spencer Tracy) squad room and another appears in the background there.
Another Royal KMG appears in the sheriff’s office of Crockett Country with the Sheriff portrayed by well known character actor Andy Devine.
Andy Devine as the old sheriff with bushy gray eyebrows and a reddish face is on a black rotary desk phone in his office as a closely cropped deputy sits behind him at a desk where we see the left side of a gray Royal KMG typewriter in the background.
Of tangential note, comedian and writer Carl Reiner, who portrays the tower controller at Rancho Conejo at which Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett attempt to land their airplane, is known to have have used a Royal KMG, though one doesn’t appear in any of his scenes in the air traffic control tower.
Serial Number: 46-0171787
Olympia Pica No. 12 typeface, 10 pitch, 2.6m/m, 6 lines/inch, keyset tabulator, half-space spacing, vertical spacing, portable, bichrome, segment shift, American keyboard, 44 keys, 88 characters, white and gray plastic body with grey hood and gray plastic keys with white characters
Manufactured in Wilhelmshaven, Germany
I acquired this at thrift for $21.95 on 2026-05-10 for Mother’s Day in immaculate condition! It’s as if someone used it to type up a few essays then put it in the case for 49 years. Other than some minor wear, this may be the singularly cleanest typewriter I’ve ever purchased. As my first typebar electric Olympia, I was so looking forward to taking it apart and giving it a full clean, oil, and adjust, but beyond wiping off some exterior dust, this machine really needs no work. I’m both disappointed and elated at the same time.
“Now listen to this.
The gentle and soothing lullaby of a piece of machinery so perfect –”
—Frank Navasky, YOU’VE GOT MAIL (Warner Bros., 1998)
Serial Number: 8-12-512178E
Elite (12 CPI), 6 lines/inch, bichrome, keyset tabulator, typebar hood, 12" carriage, carriage shift, American keyboard, 42 keys, 84 characters, foundry marks: alpha: backwards "2 slash", numeric: "8", in black enamel with glass keys, manufactured in the U.S.A.
My first ever Woodstock. Acquired via thrift for $50 on 2026-05-08. Possibly a bit more expensive than it might have otherwise been, but the key rings are in stunning shape, and the work to polish them is easily worth several hundred in labor! The decals are also in exceptional condition. Aside from some cosmetic damage to the typebar hood, this machine is in exceptionally great cosmetic condition and will be even more so following a full polish of the body and the brights.
Quick initial work
Naturally it needs a new ribbon, but it’s got enough ink left for a quick typesample.
A fast dusting and a preliminary scrub of the carriage rails and a few other parts with isopropyl alcohol and it’s ready for some basic work. Primarily the return lever and the margin sets were very gummy, while the keylevers had some pretty good action without any attention. (Someone really loved this machine.)
The carriage return lever needed some forming so that it no longer scrapes on the typebar hood.
A quick cleaning of the slugs which were in reasonable shape. List of work to be done:
The tabulator needs some adjustment to work properly as the tab mechanism is sitting a bit high and causes the carriage to scrape.
It’s going to need a ring and cylinder adjustment so that it’s not damaging the platen anymore, though the platen is so hard that it needs replacement anyway.
The rubber feet are usable, but need replacement.
The space key also may need some timing attention, but perhaps the slow symptoms will disappear with a full cleaning?
The rulers (5!) are slightly out of adjustment.
Full clean, oil, and adjust A day’s worth of cleaning and some modest adjustments and this should be a fantastic little machine.
Interesting features
I love the fact that this has some interesting paper fingers. They don’t seem to be well-suited to index card work however.
The unique ribbon reverse mechanism (a small metal button) is adjustable on either side.
It doesn’t have an individual tab clear button, but, in lieu, has a clear all tabs lever.
I love the design of the ribbon color selector which requires pulling a spring-loaded button out to switch colors—no accidental color changes here.
Rather than a traditional “margin release” button it has a “line lock release”, but like the Olympia SG series, it only locks when typing characters, but will blow past the margins if using the spacebar.
Rather than a more common line space selector, this has a knurled knob that needs to be pulled out and set with a pin-type mechanism. This also means that the selector can’t accidentally change its setting for any reason.
The Woodstock No. 5 is an early carriage shift standard
The typebar hood is made of some sort of early plastic and slides onto the top of the machine. While it’s borne the brunt of most of the machine’s cosmetic damage, it is easy to remove for typing “naked”. It goes on quickly to help protect the internals from ambient dust.
According to the TWdB page for the Woodstock, the 8-12 prefix on the serial number indicates a 12″ carriage (the width of the rubber portion of the platen). There isn’t any extant detail to indicate what the suffix “E” in the serial number means, though one might presume the elite or 12 pitch typeface?
The question “How do you use your typewriter(s)?” pops up for me fairly frequently. Often it’s collectors who love the machines and only think of using them for writing the “Great American Novel”. However there are a variety of tasks one could use them for besides conversation pieces or functional art in the home.
Below are some various recent uses I’ve made of my typewriter collection:
I’ve got writing projects sitting in two different machines.
I use one on my primary desk and another on the table behind it for typing up notes on index cards, recipes, my commonplace “book”, letters, and other personal correspondence.
I use a few of my portables on the porch in the mornings/evenings for journaling.
One machine in the hallway is for burning ideas, jokes, poetry and an occasional bit of typewriter art.
I often have one in the trunk of the car for typing on the go or the impromptu busking session.
One machine near the kitchen is always gamed up for adding to the ever-growing shopping list.
Typing up notes in zoom calls. I’ve got a camera mount over a Royal KMG that has its own Zoom account so people can watch the notes typed in real time.
Labels for folders, index card dividers, and sticky labels.
At the end of the day though, unless you’re Paul Sheldon, typewriters are unitaskers and are designed to do one thing well: put text on paper. All the rest are just variations on the theme. 😁🤪☠️
Looking for other ideas? I’ve indexed a number of times people have asked this question and some of the answers I’ve run across.
Looking for the opposite of this list? Try: How do you use your typewriter? [Wrong Answers Only Edition] This is where you’ll find the quirky off-label use cases like “boat anchor”, “doorstop”, “paper weight”, etc. that the non-typewriter afficionados will be sure to appreciate throwing about.
Serial Number: 11-6139621
Underwood Pica typeface, 10 pitch, 6 lines/inch; bichrome, segment shift, American keyboard, 42 keys, 84 characters
in black crinkle paint with black plastic keys and Art Deco chrome trim
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
Acquired at Goodwill Southern California for $20.28 including tax on 2026-05-06. Needs a full clean, oil, and adjust, but not in generally bad shape. Two or three mechanical issues to sort out, but it’s got some new ink and a quick wipe down/dusting has helped immensely.
I’m in love with the Art Deco chrome styling. This was manufactured sometime between January and June 1947.
Frank Navasky (YOU’VE GOT MAIL (Warner Bros., 1998))
