A look back at Elektro, the smoking robot that stole America’s heart

Get a glimpse of the bygone engineering that created our world in this celebration of all things retro technology. From the “angry alligator” that allowed Apollo astronauts to practice for the landing on the moon to power steering, join us as we revisit the ingenious designs that ushered in new ages.

Kevin Urgiles

12 minutes ago

Robots are a pretty normal part of modern life. We buy them as toys for kids, get some to help clean our homes, and sometimes see them on the big screen. Back in 1939, robots were a lot rarer, and if you did see one, it was probably some human inside a costume, sweating bullets. But not Elektro. He was his own cigarette-smoking, seven-foot-tall self. He wowed crowds across the U.S. and can rightly claim the title of being the first robot celebrity. Sorry, R2-D2.