Thinko the Robot's Secret Past

By the standards of psychotronic film, Sex Kittens Go to College (1960) has it all: Mamie Van Doren, a chimpanzee named Abraham Q. Voltaire, and Thinko the Robot. Indeed, Thinko plays a pivotal role—thanks to his computer brain, a brilliant ex-stripper is hired to head the science department at Collins College. When he blows a fuse after all the excitement, a sexy nurse attends him. But Thinko was no mere Hollywood prop; he was a bot with a past.

In fact, Thinko was originally known as Elektro, one of the "mechanical men" built by Westinghouse in the first half of the twentieth century. He made his debut at the 1939 New York World's Fair, where he astounded visitors to the Westinghouse Building by smoking cigarettes, walking, "talking" (his voice was recorded on 78 rpm records), and identifying red and green lights with his photoelectric sensor eyes. Later, Elektro and his dog, Sparko, hit the road to introduce the wonders of Westinghouse engineering to the rest of America.

After Sex Kittens Go to College, Elektro fell on hard times. His head was separated from his body, and both parts disappeared until they were reunited in 2004. Today, Elektro and the other Westinghouse mechanical men reside at the Mansfield Memorial Museum in Mansfield, Ohio. Sparko's whereabouts remain unknown.

12:40 PM on Mon Jan 14 2008
By peril
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8 comments

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JoeyTheHobo at 12:58 PM on 01/14/08
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io9, how else would I find out such historical facts?
Lynn Peril at 01:02 PM on 01/14/08
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@JoeyTheHobo: Hey, we aim to please.
strider_mt2k at 01:19 PM on 01/14/08
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Connectedness Index: 717

Domo
Gyrus at 02:18 PM on 01/14/08
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How come they don't remake movies like Sex Kittens Go to College? Screw Cloverfield!
Eac_o_System at 03:23 PM on 01/14/08
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a brilliant ex-stripper is hired to head the science department at Collins College.

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So, they had 'Stripers are respectable people' back then, as well as in these times? It cheezes me off, most of all.
Lynn Peril at 03:41 PM on 01/14/08
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@Eac_O_System: If it makes you feel better, she gets fired because of her past - even though she is overqualified for the job (and takes herself and her students seriously). Van Doren gives a surprisingly nuanced performance in what is essentially a live-action cartoon.
Eac_o_System at 04:40 PM on 01/14/08
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@lperil: Well, that puts me in an odd position, because as little as I like political correctness, I hate firing people when they did nothing wrong in the present... these perplexing conflicts!!!
stefan_jones at 08:28 PM on 01/14/08
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Sparko is working in a Robosexual brothel in Bangkok. He is so deeply ashamed at his fall from grace that he hides in the recharging closet when Thinko comes looking for him.