Abacus being used as counting tool since 300 B.C.

From: The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) (via Knight-Ridder/TribuneNews Service) | Date: September 11, 2002 | Copyright information

Byline: Chris Cobbs

Counting on fingers and toes may have worked for early civilizations, but eventually people needed a mathematical tool with more power and sophistication.

The solution was a counting board, or abacus.

Centuries before there were calculators and computers, the abacus was used to help people add, subtract, multiply and divide.

An abacus consists of a rectangular wooden or metal frame with a series of vertical rods holding beads, which slide up and down at the touch of a finger.

There's also a horizontal divider, which creates an upper and ...

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