# The Handy Adder (grocery shopping helper) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 18, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216 "2023-07-18T15:00:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/1 "2023-07-18T15:00:00Z")
I recently had a random memory of my mom using a “Handy Adder” adding machine while we grocery shopped in the 80s. I don’t know if she ever let me use it for her, maybe once. I did pull it out of her purse and play with it when we were at church (early fidget toy!) Were these ubiquitous in the 70s and 80s or was it just for people like my mom who had a very set budget? [![](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?id=NMAH-AHB2016q087738&max=1000) ](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?id=NMAH-AHB2016q087738&max=1000) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/2 "2023-07-18T15:01:52Z")
I remember them well, but even my mom with a coupon organizer didn’t bother with one. But I remember seeing them in a lot of houses. Not just coupons, she would also go to 2-3 stores to stretch her food budget. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/3 "2023-07-18T15:03:05Z")
My mom had one of those (or something very similar) in the 1970s, though I don’t know how often she actually used it while grocery shopping. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/4 "2023-07-18T15:03:56Z")
I used a calculator, but yeah, that adder _would_ have been handy! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/5 "2023-07-18T15:07:26Z")
Those were around for a variety of counting purposes. The one pictured in the OP looks like it’s made with a lot of plastic but the gears and wheels inside may be made of metal. Heavier duty versions were used in taking inventories and similar uses. By the turn of the current century small electronic devices had become common for commercial uses but those things are probably still used occasionally. I’m sure there’s a phone app to use in place of the mechanical device. I was rather good at approximating the total of groceries I was purchasing and back in the old days before scanning and detailed receipts it was important to keep up on that to avoid overcharges. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/6 "2023-07-18T15:16:39Z")
My mom might have had one of those–it looks quite familiar. She did use a calculator at one point. My pet peeve these days is that stores all are playing stupid games to obfuscate their price like labeling their products “3 for $2” or “$2.99 each… must buy 4” This makes it more difficult to get a straight answer about the real cost. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/7 "2023-07-18T15:29:14Z")
They usually have price per ounce comparative info now which is a big improvement. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/8 "2023-07-18T15:32:20Z")
I had a smaller version of this device when I was a kid. I thought it was really cool. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Modern_Addiator.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Modern_Addiator.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/9 "2023-07-18T15:43:02Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > They usually have price per ounce comparative info now which is a big improvement Great when they are consistent. It’s infuriating when one size/brand has price per ounce, and another size/brand has price per gallon, and the third has price per pound. I can’t do comparisons that way! ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/10 "2023-07-18T15:49:06Z")
There’s a guy on YouTube who does videos of all kinds of counting gadgets. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2mv45XP48bQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Pre-electric pocket-sized sliding calculator") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mv45XP48bQ) Neat stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/11 "2023-07-18T15:54:37Z")
Mom had a few simple adding machines around the house, but they were probably intended as teaching aids. I never saw her using any of them (though I did play with them myself). I expect that she did keep track of grocery totals, but if so, she did it the same way I did, in her head. The one arithmetic tool I did see her using frequently was something called an EZ-Grader. It was basically a sliding cardboard table, with a window so you’d only see one column. You’d set it for the number of problems on an assignment by sliding the table behind the window, and then you could look down at the number the student got right, and see the percentage. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/12 "2023-07-18T16:03:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The one arithmetic tool I did see her using frequently was something called an EZ-Grader. It was basically a sliding cardboard table, with a window so you’d only see one column. My wife taught elementary school in the '90s, and she had one of those, too, though she had the dial-shaped one (first image below). [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91PE0TIMnmL.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91PE0TIMnmL.jpg) [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81n-dGVp7AS._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81n-dGVp7AS._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/13 "2023-07-18T16:47:07Z")
Huh, that’s a totally different principle-- It’s basically a slide rule. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/14 "2023-07-18T16:49:22Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Were these ubiquitous in the 70s and 80s or was it just for people like my mom who had a very set budget? I don’t know how common they were, but we had one. Never had one of these, though. > **[Vintage 80-year-old mechanical shopping list baffles Facebook users](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9477149/Vintage-80-year-old-mechanical-shopping-list-baffles-Facebook-users.html)** > > Contrasting to the paper scrawlling of today the bizarre device consists of a metal block inscribed with kitchen staples like bread, butter, milk, and tea and uses movable markers next to each item. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/15 "2023-07-18T16:54:25Z")
Never seen one of those but it’s a cool idea for the steam punkish world before electronics. Contrast that to today. I’ll be going to the grocery store in a while, the grocery list is on a small white board stuck to the fridge door, and I’ll take a picture of it with my phone before I go. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/16 "2023-07-18T17:02:05Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Never seen one of those but it’s a cool idea for the steam punkish world before electronics. I saw the object somewhere else before just now googling up an example article showing it. Reading the actual article just now, I’m kinda suprised that apparently people in the UK don’t have a catsup-ketchup equivalence. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/17 "2023-07-18T17:09:23Z")
I remember my mother just adding up cans at fifty cents, staple goods at a buck each and luxury goods at two bucks a package and ballparking the cart total from there. It was a different time. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/18 "2023-07-18T17:49:17Z")
Wasn’t that Australia? Still odd if they don’t know. I did assume ‘catsup’ was what the Queen used to request for her burgers. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/19 "2023-07-18T17:51:12Z")
I ain’t carrying no ‘Adder’ anywhere. And I’m gonna try not to push his buttons. 🐍 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216/20 "2023-07-18T18:41:57Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Were these ubiquitous in the 70s and 80s or was it just for people like my mom who had a very set budget? I remember playing with one, but I don’t remember whether it actually got used “for real.” I don’t remember the make or model, but I distinctly remember it being red, as in the picture I linked to here: > [@Without saying your age, what's something from your childhood that a younger person wouldn't understand?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/802): > > I don’t recognize what you’re describing; but I do remember the plastic clicker devices that you could take to the store with you to keep track of how much $ worth of merchandise you were buying. [[image] ](http://image.timepassagesnostalgia.com/watermarked/imagesl0/l029adderx3.jpg) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-adder-grocery-shopping-helper/987216.md?page=2)