iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Amazing work by Kevin and a bunch of others who have worked so hard to unearth the history of what I think is RCA's wildest product idea.

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Kevin Bunch (ubersaurus) @atariarchive.org · 31/08/2026

Back in May, I helped dump seven prototype game cartridges that represent some of the earliest steps toward home video games as we know them today. I've published my findings on a new Archive Annex video: meet the FRED III. youtu.be/180erQryZFw

youtu.be

FRED III: RCA's Original Prototype Game Console - Archive Annex 6

YouTube video by Atari Archive

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Maybe this isn't my favorite fact from today's game history research, but it is probably the weirdest. In 2016, Donald Rumsfeld convinced Snapdragon Studios to make a mobile game called Churchill's Solitaire. www.wired.com/2016/01/revi...

wired.com

Reviewing Donald Rumsfeld's Solitaire App as Rumsfeld Might

There are known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns.

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

My favorite find from today's game history research was AudiOdyssey, a game developed in 2007 by Eitan Glinert at the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Lab. It was designed to work equally well for visually impaired and seeing players so that they could play together. gambit.mit.edu/loadgame/audiodyssey.php

gambit.mit.edu

GAMBIT: Load Game: AudiOdyssey

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

I see your adorable sharks and I raise you this 19th century watercolor of a whale with really bad teeth. (MIT Museum, AF-NJ-A011)

Watercolor depicting a whale in side view as a wave crashes over its back. The whale is spouting and facing left. At left is a line of kanji characters and a red ink stamp. The stamp is the artist's mark.

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Call me crazy, but I'm not sure that I want a student to operate a nuclear reactor....

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Hey #ESHS-HSS: interested in collections, archives, libraries, and/or museums? Come to the CALM-sponsored roundtable “Collections, Archives, Libraries, and Museums: How, Why, and So What?” tomorrow at 4:15, or to the Doctors Pub immediately after the roundtable for a more informal conversation.

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

One of my favorite historical rabbit holes is the story about a 1968 cross country electric car race. Students from MIT and CalTech built their own electric cars and drove them across the country. I recently got to talk about the race and some of its legacy:

youtube.com

Racing towards a zero emissions future | Florencia Pierri | TEDxMIT

YouTube video by TEDx Talks

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

I feel like this "Stupid People at MIT" t-shirt would be such a hit! mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/...

mitmuseum.mit.edu

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

It's 1983, and "there is trouble brewing in the video game world" according to the editors of Electronic Fun. Too many knock-offs, sequels, and poor imitations of other games instead of new output.

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

I am (ever so slowly) getting back into computer game research for upcoming Untitled Computer Game Exhibition at the MIT Museum. And since so many video/computer game people follow me... a question for you all. What would *you* most like to see in a computer game exhibition?

Screenshot of a magazine. Text reads "Output-Input / Drop me a line, on-line"

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

It's 1982, and the lukewarmest game is Spectravision's Reaganomics-- the game where you... balance budgets!

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

It's 1982, and there are only 347 video games in existence. And the magazine *Electronic Fun* is going to rank them all on an A-F scale. Grade inflation clearly hasn't hit yet-- there are no A+ grades.

Screenshot of a digitized magazine. Headline: "Video Game Explosion!"

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

I'll be at #TedXMIT this Saturday talking a cross country electric car race... from 1968! If you're in Boston, come to the MIT Museum at 2:30 to learn just how many fires occurred along the way. 🔥 ⚡ 🔋 🏁 Register here: luma.com/mdx3v716

The back of a 1968 Chevy Corvair with wires coming out of the trunk. The license plate reads "TECH"

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

I had a fun time over-explaining the history of the telephone for @wbur.org ☎️ At some point, I also demonstrated that while I have an intellectual understanding of how a rotary dial phone works, I didn't actually know how to dial the numbers!

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

That's quite possibly the second funniest picture they could have chosen for the header. The funniest, of course, is this one-- the slide that reads only "profit" mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/... Anyway, go listen to me talk about games, I guess?

mitmuseum.mit.edu

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Today at work I finished cataloging a collection of material related to someone's Heathkit H8. We got his computer, terminal, disk drive, and a whole bunch of archival material related to his computer (whom he called George) and various Heath Users Groups he was involved in over the years.

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Video Game History Foundation @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

This week on the Video Game History Hour: We're joined by @flori-p.bsky.social, Associate Curator of Science and Technology at the MIT Museum! Dr. Pierri trained as a natural history curator. So how did they end up working in game preservation? At MIT? The story of their career will surprise you!

gamehistory.org

Episode 151: Games Preservation at MIT Museum | Video Game History Foundation

From vacuum tubes to virtual worlds, Dr. Flori Pierri, Associate Curator of Science and Technology at the MIT Museum, joins us to explore their unexpected journey into the world of video game preserva...

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Today in cataloguing recent acquisitions: A handy guide to computer terms (from The User's Guide, 1984)

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Happy birthday to the bouncing ball!

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

In cataloging a collection (I'd say recent acquisition, but it came into the museum in 1996 🫠), I came across an witheringly devastating burn. "You may never have heard of his theory, but you certainly missed nothing." mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/...

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

“This should be a trigger warning— it’s a syllabus” 😂😂😂 @profnoctis.bsky.social at #PAXEast talks about his class Mythos to Logos, which uses Final Fantasy games to teach religious studies.

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

I’m at a very fun panel about the MIT Mystery Hunt at #PAXEast. Apparently advice given before the hunt includes “please shower,” which is especially important for the longer hunts… 😂

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

There’s some Market Basket product placement at #PaxEast 😂

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

And now, from early modern whales, I’m off to #PAXEast to work my my next exhibition project— computer games! If you’re interested in game history, game preservation, or how do you exhibit a game in a museum, anyway? send me a DM. I’d love to chat!

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MIT Press @mitpress.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

We're disappointed to see Ben Barres's powerful book "The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" among the ~400 titles removed from the Naval Academy Library. Needless to say, we're proud to have published his book and will keep it — and his memory — alive.

thereader.mitpress.mit.edu

The Coming Out of a Transgender Scientist

"I know that I am making the right decision because whenever I think about changing my gender role, I am flooded with feelings of relief."

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

I don’t think that it was curatorially necessary for me to be around for the mounting of the narwhal tusk, but it sure did make me happy!

A person wearing a brown dress, purple cardigan, and green boots standing next to a narwhal tusk mounted onto a black board.

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Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

I hope people are queuing up some clever, potent counter- programming, guerrilla tours, and pirate guides for all of these obsequious, whitewashed semiquincentennial exhibitions and events

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Ah, the RCA CT-100! Expensive and not very good. A winning combination!

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Kevin Bunch (ubersaurus) @atariarchive.org · 25/03/2025

Still remember @flori-p.bsky.social talking about RCA and the whole color tv process at her old job!

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

This was a fun thing to see in the reference queue. What gets me is the 'sent from my iphone' at the end. Our reference assistant is top notch and definitely not a grub. Be in touch if you want to license any of the MIT Museum's images for your next publication. mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/...

screenshot of a Hubspot request. Text reads "Spoken like a True Academic. / Absolutely Worthless Human Being. Not a DECISION MAKER. A GRUB eating the entrails out of the HOST.
Sent from my iPhone"

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Reposted by Flori Pierri

Eryk Salvaggio @eryk.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

What I’ve come to understand about generative AI is that it is ultimately a tool for the redistribution of mediocrity.

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Are you heading to Boston for #RSA2025 and find yourself with some time to kill? We have no shortage of museums, but for something a little off the beaten track, you can visit these two delightful early modern whales, currently on display in "Moving Objects" at the MIT Museum in Cambridge.

Monochrome engraving depicting, in foreground, Jonah upon a shell-strewn beach after having been spat up by the whale, which is behind him, spouting. Jonah is bearded and almost nude, save for some drapery, and the whale has very large fish-like eyes. In the background, the scene of Jonah being thrown off the boat and the whale opening its mouth to receive him is depicted; further back, there is a coastal city with domes and arches. Text at bottom of page reads "152) Jonah cast over board / Jonah 1"

An image of the whale spitting Jonah up onto a shell-covered beach. A sailing ship and a harbor city are visible in the background. The composition bears notable similarity to AF-JX-0209, but is not a direct copy, and the style is different. At the top of the page, in a heart-shape, the number "152" is printed. At the bottom right the engraver's name, P.P. Bouche, is given. Under the image is the following text: "Captaine John Bromhill of Black-wall in the Country of Middlesex Gent, For advancement of this Worke, Contributed this Plate."

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

“Utopia Ltd” poster, 1969. From the tremendously good MIT Office of Design Services.

Blue poster with the words “Utopia Ltd” repeating along the top

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Hello beautiful. William Ware, Sketch of a capital, circa 1870. mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/...

Charcoal drawing of a column capital with leaf motifs; sketch on off-white paper. Initials 'WRW" rubbed into charcoal background.

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Molly White @molly.wiki · 09/03/2025

happy international women's day to trans women in particular

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

I just love seeing what's going through the digitization pipeline, mostly for the sheer randomness of it all. Wedgewood plates! Brochures! Protests of the 2023 and the 1970 variety! Ship plans! and so much more!

screenshot of a digital asset management system showing a grid of recently uploaded photos.

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 27/02/2025

Three decades after legislation pushed for the return of Native American remains to Indigenous communities, many of the nation’s top museums and universities still have thousands of human remains in their collections. Check on institutions near you with our database (just updated):

propub.li

Does Your Local Museum or University Still Have Native American Remains?

Use this database to find out where Native American remains were taken from and which institutions report still having them. Check on institutions near you.

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Reposted by Flori Pierri

Massachusetts Historical Society @mhs1791.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

Our short-term fellowship applications are due by this Sat., 1 Mar. Apply today to compete for fellowships that support research in a variety of fields. Most fellowships carry a stipend of $3,000 for 4-weeks of research at the MHS. Learn more: www.masshist.org/research/fel...

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

Everything is coming up whales for me.

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Look at that beautiful coloring!

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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 10/02/2025

Today, we at Google have a new product: what if you could could ask an app a question? Oh, we do that already? Well, what if we were a little bit worse at it? What if we also sometimes gave you egregiously wrong information? And what if it cost a billion dollars? Still not interested? It's mandatory

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

I don’t really follow the sportsballs, but I *always* root for Philly because the city is so joyous when it wins!

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Flori Pierri @flori-p.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

I'm processing records of photographs taken at the MIT Radiation Laboratory during WWII, and this photo was titled "Dr. G. Goldman and his equipment. And I can't help but wonder... is the dude in the adult-sized crib part of the equipment?!?

Two men (one sitting and one standing) are looking several pieces of scientific equipment. To the right, an adult lies face down in what looks like a crib made out of wood and chicken wire.

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Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

It's not a demolition site it's a mass grave. It's not a demolition site it's a crime scene. It's not a demolition site its a homeland. It's not a demolition site it's Palestine. It's not a demolition site it's a genocide.

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Saeed Jones @theferocity.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Maybe if we tell them there’s a student encampment inside the White House democrats will spring to action.

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