Curta
A curta is a special kind of pocket calculator that was invented a long time ago, before people had smartphones or computers to do math. It looks like a little cylinder, and you can hold it in your hand. Inside the curta, there are lots of gears and wheels that turn when you use it.
To use the curta, you turn a little knob on the top of the cylinder. This makes the gears and wheels inside move around. If you want to add two numbers, for example 2+2, you turn the knob for each number, and then you turn it one more time to get the answer. In this case, you turn the knob four times, and then you look at the little window on the side of the curta to see the answer, which is 4.
The curta is a very special calculator because it can do lots of different kinds of math problems, like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and even more complicated things like square roots. It was very useful for people who needed to do math quickly, like engineers or scientists, before computers were invented.
To use the curta, you turn a little knob on the top of the cylinder. This makes the gears and wheels inside move around. If you want to add two numbers, for example 2+2, you turn the knob for each number, and then you turn it one more time to get the answer. In this case, you turn the knob four times, and then you look at the little window on the side of the curta to see the answer, which is 4.
The curta is a very special calculator because it can do lots of different kinds of math problems, like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and even more complicated things like square roots. It was very useful for people who needed to do math quickly, like engineers or scientists, before computers were invented.