#i also blame this thing for my fascination with disembodied/ mechanically stilted/filtered voices

[gamebunny-advance]

Core Memory Unlocked

So, for some reason, I suddenly remembered this toy I used to have as a kid: it was an interactive space tablet. You would press buttons on it, and it would light up and give you planet facts and stuff.

I googled it to try and find the exact one I had, but it turns out there are several different versions of this thing. At first, I thought my memory was faulty because I distinctly remembered it being silver and having buttons on the side, while most of the ones I was finding were blue and/or had their buttons at the bottom.

Eventually, I was able to find the exact one I had on eBay, but I can't find any video footage of this particular model.

(Source)

I wanted video footage so I could compare the voice clips between this one and the ones I found before it, because I found that all the others used the same voice clips, even if they were different models, so I'm wondering if mine was the same. I recall this (near) exact quote being in it: "If Saturn could fit in a swimming pool, it would float."

But none of the videos I've found have had that line in it. Saturn was my favorite planet at the time, so I remember that voice line very distinctly.

I guess this sounds a little familiar, but I just can't 100% confirm it without hearing that specific quote.

From my meager search efforts, it doesn't seem like these other ones have any specific branding while the one I had was licensed(?) by the Smithsonian, so I don't know if these other ones are "knock-offs" that are using the same voice clips/programming, or if mine was somehow unique.

I'm leaning on the former, since the voice is similar enough to my memory that I can blame any discrepancies on either the video quality or just poor memory. But even though the button layouts are almost identical, mine had a "C" button for the quiz game, and none of the other versions I've found have had a third answer button. If the voices/programming are really the same, would they really go through the trouble of cutting any questions/answers that used the C button? Then again, these other ones that I've found do have a "help" button that mine doesn't have, so it's possible that this is their "C button" and mine just went unlabeled.

Mid-post update, but I did find another version of this thing that actually uses the exact same mold as the one I had, but has different branding/colors.

(Source)

It apparently has the same manufacturer (Scientific Toys) as what I was calling the "knock-off" versions, so this seems like conclusive evidence that they're probably all the same on the inside and mine just had that premium branding~ Though, from what I can tell, the Smithsonian version has a different manufacturer (Natural Science Industries), and I've yet to confirm if they're related somehow.

I was able to find that Scientific Toys still makes a version of this space tablet, but with yet another different layout and the omission of Pluto. I couldn't tell ya if the voice samples are the same though, XP. I also confirmed that NSI is still partnered with the Smithsonian and making other branded products, so I think that they are separate entities, but I couldn't say definitively who ripped off who yet. Or maybe even that there's a 3rd actor that I just don't know about.

I don't need the answers that badly, but this was a slightly amusing rabbit hole that I went through~

Anyway, the actual point of this post was that in my memory, the voice was actually pretty similar to DJSS and I thought that was kinda funny.

I guess the video voice is close enough, just more nasally~

#gbunny writes #gbunny collects #kinda #i don't remember what happened to mine #it might have finally broken because i played with it so much #i do remember it having some gunk on it at some point #or maybe my parents hid it also because i played with it so much. #it was like my favorite thing in the world for a while #i also blame this thing for my fascination with disembodied/ mechanically stilted/filtered voices #much in the same way that i blame PJ Sam 3 for my fascination with food based characters #it was all buried there in my subconscious