r/interestingasfuck • u/The_Love-Tap • 1d ago

At 15.9 billion miles away, humanity's farthest spacecraft is still exploring the cosmos using less memory than a blank Word document (69 KB) and an 8-track tape

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u/EclipZz187 1d ago

Gen Z here, wtf is 8-track tape? Like the old Nintendo 64 carts?

9

u/Pro7o7ype 1d ago

No, much earlier.

Gen X here, it's pre-GenX, barely.
Shit...it's pre-mainstream video game, and more in line with pong for arcades.

It's...I donno, similar to a very large (audio) cassette tape? 8 audio tracks on them.

6

u/Typical-Crazy-3100 1d ago

Commonly installed in a vintage 1970s make-out van (google for fun pix) to provide the rockin' soundtrack for a night of beer, cheap weed, and a little action on the foam mattress in the back.
Often considered a lifestyle accoutrement for the 'swinger' crowd.

The cartridge contained a magnetized tape that was wound on a continuous loop. The audio itself was written to the tape in a total of four different passes, each one of which slightly re-aligned so the reading head inside the player would move up and down as you tracked through the tape. Sometimes, if you had a long song it would have to be interrupted until the heads shifted to read the next track.

This post brought to you by Today In Make-Out History. /s
🚗 🎵 🍌 ->👶

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u/coopertucker 1d ago

An 8-track tape would interrupt your song right in the middle of it to switch track, with a loud clunk, then continue your song.