Something magical happened to me today
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This is an archive of a Twitter thread from October 27, 2016. You can still read the thread on Twitter (with the reactions), but the threading is all messed up at the beginning — might actually be easier to start at the end and quickly scroll up.
So, something magical happened to me today, and I wanted to tell you all about it.
I’m driving from Barcelona to the edge of Pyrenees, but my friend tells me to detour to the little town of Figueres, for the Dalí Museum.
I don’t know if I care much for Dalí, but why not? The drive starts off on a wrong wheel when I realize I made a reservation for tomorrow.
It fortunately there was another car with automatic transmission. So I drive up, and park next to the museum.
As I am walking towards it, I see this sign pointing the other way, saying “Museu de la Tècnica,” with a cute gear icon.
I don’t have internet because of another earlier snafu (bad SIM card), but I had the foresight to save offline Google Maps.
But Google Maps returns nothing for the museum, so I don’t know where it is exactly. I follow the sign’s directions the old-fashioned way.
I walk and walk. The cute downtown slowly disappears around me. At some point the signs stop talking about the museum.
I’m thinking that maybe the museum shut down, and they just forgot to update the signage? But I keep walking. And at some point I find it.
The entrance is so small I could easily miss it. I was just lucky that it was on my exact path.
But small museums are amazing, too, and I didn’t have any expectations anyway.
And literally, the first thing that greets me is a Bar-Lock typewriter. A glorious one, with a gorgeous cover…
…and a non-shifted keyboard. And, one can touch it! So I do, immediately. I am typing on a Bar-Lock!!! This was already worth it.
I check in with an older gentleman, and pay the 3€ entry price. (No donation box as far as I could see?!)
He doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak Spanish; he tells me something I interpret as “don’t forget about the second floor.”
I start with the first floor; it is pretty simple, kind of what I would expect from a little regional museum.
Second floor is filled with old clocks and sewing machines. It is kind of cool, but I go through it quickly.
Then I see that the stairs go up, still. There must be another floor.
As I am going up, I see some posters of typewriters, but I don’t make too much of it.
And then…
AND THEN I SEE THIS. I don’t actually have a good photo, but the third floor is five rooms filled with HUNDREDS of typewriters.
I have never seen so many typewriters under one roof. Not even close.
At this point, I literally have tears in my eyes. I’m not kidding. This feels like a miracle.
I don’t even know what to do. There is tons of stuff here. Eventually, I compose myself.
Then I type on the first Sholes and Glidden, from 18-whatever-the-fuck. This is where QWERTY started, and I AM TYPING ON IT.
I type on a few early index typewriters for the first time in my life.
I find the dual Imperial I talked about in one of my Ignite talks. I never thought I would see it in person.
There are like 2.5 old grainy-ass photos of it on the internet in total AND NOW I AM TOUCHING IT WITH MY OWN DIGITS.
Best yet, I have this place for myself. No one else is here.
This kind of feels like a dream. Not figuratively: I have had dreams like this, finding an awesome place that I didn’t even know existed.
But then I usually wake up, sad for a few hours.
Eventually, a lady comes by and she tries to explain some things to me, which kind of works…
…although the most I understand is her telling me “comprende” again and again. To which I smile and nod.
At some point, it occurs to me that she is not explaining anything. She’s just trying to kick me out… the museum closed a while back.
From the brochure she gives me on a way out, I realize I was insanely lucky. This museum is not usually even open on Thursdays.
I will share a few more out of hundreds of photos I took, but the story ends here.
What a crazy discovery. I have actually researched places with typewriters. This never came up!
I also asked my Airbnb host for technical museums specifically. She just rolled her eyes. (Over email.)
To think I could have so easily missed it… And, by the way, I never made it to Dalí Museum. This was surreal as it was. :·)
Okay, more photos. Check out the most beautiful Shift key ever.
Shhhhh. Don’t tell PC manufacturers they can brand their spacebars.
Typewriter for writing music? WHY NOT.
Who has two thumbs and used them to shift this vintage Franklin? THIS BRO.
HOLY SHIT WOODEN SPACEBAR.
I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON HERE, BUT IT IS AWESOME.
Is this like a 2D typewriter?
This portable typewriter has been used in the field during World War I.
This is some sort of a cypher machine from Germany. Like a proto-Enigma.
Look at all this translated key names. Gross!
The Russian one, even!
DOUBLE DASH key, where have you been all my double life.
A demo typewriter with parts carved out to better demo what used to be the future.
A crazy rare (two copies!) Hansen writing ball using the Moon alphabet, an alternative to Braille.
WHAT IS THIS IS EVEN, AND WHY DO I FEEL IT IS SENTIENT.
Even the calculators are insane and amazing.
These guys are really not that great at counterfeiting.
What happens when you press a key (interactive!). So much more complicated when you try to make your typewriter quieter.
Speaking of complicated: Japanese and Chinese typewriters.
Just kidding! Here they are, for real.
And last, but not least, the iconic eraser (eraser crumbs within the machine are deadly!).
I have tons more photos, but I think this is enough. :·) Parting thought:
Whatever it is that you care about, I hope you get to experience the kind of discovery that I did today.
Now I am going back to some castle in the mountains that is sketchy af. If I don’t come back, please remember me through this thread. 0_O
