What happens when you divide by zero on a mechanical calculator

[mpweiher]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFJUYFlSYsM

[stevesimmons]

My mother, a statistician, used a motorised mechanical calculator at the UK's Royal Aircraft Establishment around 1965.

She used to say if you accidentally divided by zero, it jammed itself and you had to call a repairman...

[HocusLocus]

I once did something like this once on a mechanical Olivetti... only it was a million times a million.

Not even unplugging it would reset the mechanism. We had to open it and find and pull a master release bar, forcing it to end calculation and print a partial answer.

[takeda]

Perpetum Mobile ;)

[ohiovr]

Captian Kirk would be proud.