Products in a Museum
You know you're getting older when products you once helped manufacture start showing up in museums! It’s a humbling (and slightly alarming) experience to stroll through an exhibit and spot something you remember building like it was yesterday. Personally, I’ve had the pleasure—and shock—of seeing Mitsubishi VCRs from the "old" Video Plant in Livingston proudly displayed in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Those machines were cutting-edge back in the day, and now they’re sitting behind glass as historical artefacts.
But the real kicker? Even a medical product we assembled here at J-TEQ EMS during the COVID pandemic, just a few years back, has already found its way into the V&A Museum in Dundee. Talk about a fast track to history! One minute you're shipping them out the door, the next they’re being admired by curious visitors with puzzled expressions and audio guides.
I bet I’m not alone in this experience. Plenty of folks out there have probably stumbled upon a gadget they worked on, or even built by hand, now immortalized in a museum. And I’m willing to bet some of those relics date back way further than the 1980s—perhaps even when flared trousers and mullets were in style the first time around!
It’s a weird mix of pride and disbelief when you realize you’ve contributed to technological history—whether you meant to or not. So, if you ever find yourself wandering through a museum and spotting an old project of yours, take a moment to appreciate it. Just don’t let the museum staff catch you explaining how it really works—they might offer you a senior discount on the way out!