Voting Station

Reynold Johnson

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Inventor

The Resume

    (July 16, 1906-September 15, 1998)
    Died of cancer at 92
    Held 90 patents
    Invented multiple choice scoring machine (1932)
    Invented ½ inch video tape
    Invented microphonograph
    Father of the computer disk drive
    Science teacher (Michigan High School)
    Scientist for IBM (1936-71)
    Won National Medal of Science from President Reagan (1986)

Why he might be annoying:

    Because of him the #2 pencil became mandatory on multiple-choice tests.
    He was figuring out a way to code Chinese characters, but died before accomplishing that.
    The computer disk drive was originally being developed by Jacob Rainbow at the national bureau of standards.
    His concept of the disk drive made it vulnerable to crashes (which is still evident today).
    His first disk drive weighed a ton and occupied nearly 300 cubic feet (1955).

Why he might not be annoying:

    As a high school teacher he invented a machine that detected #2 pencil marks.
    The purpose of that machine was to automatically grade multiple-choice tests.
    At Sony he developed a method of storing video on ½ inch tape that normally used 1 inch tape. That method brought forth the invention of the home VCR.
    He invented the microphonograph used in talk to me books, where children touch a word and the word is spoken. That invention won a toy of the year award for talk to me books.
    His invention of the disk drive using random access sped up computers that relied on searching tape, by several minutes per request.
    His disk drive replaced 50,000 IBM punch cards and accessed data in a one second.
    He staffed 15 scientists for IBM in the San Jose, California area, later to be known as silicon valley.
    His 1955 disk drive had an enormous capacity for its time - 5 megabytes.
    He accurately predicted the future of computing was in miniaturization.
    He is the namesake for an IEEE award.
    His son described him as 'a gentle, sweet, self-effacing man.'

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 15 Votes: 46.67% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 15 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 18 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 21 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 31 Votes: 32.26% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 35 Votes: 48.57% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 53 Votes: 54.72% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 128 Votes: 46.88% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 948 Votes: 42.83% Annoying