TV remotes back then used to be so heavy. As a kid when no one was around I used to lay flat on my back and toss the remote in the air over my head and catch it while I was listening to whatever show was on. The remote was about the same weight as a baseball.

One time I missed the catch and it (very predictably) hit me in the face. When I showed up to school the next day with a black eye, the teacher thought I was being abused. It didn't help that my story was so stupid...

These were so cool. Didn’t they work by the pitch omitted? When a mechanical lever struck a plate that emitted a tone. The tv then receives the tone and completes the task.

I found one of these in an estate sale. I still have it and it's incredible. The sound when you mash the button all the way down that triggers the tuning forks is so weird and satisfying.

I just looked and saw these go for about $200 US today. WOW!!

Hah, we had a TV with one of those when I was a little kid. I remember the TV would sometimes hear just the right tone from its own speaker and change the channel. The buttons on the remote did have a very satisfying click, though.

This is a repost. If i remember right, the original post a few months ago explained a dew things about that remote. Like, for example, how each of the buttons mechanically creates an sound signal that the TV reacts to.

checks eBay

Those things are apparently going for ~$250 today.