{"id":617,"date":"2024-04-03T00:00:12","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T00:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/?p=617"},"modified":"2024-04-03T17:10:36","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T17:10:36","slug":"foki-the-martian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/foki-the-martian\/","title":{"rendered":"Wise Robot Foki the Martian"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 1966, \u201cRobot Sabio Foki el Marciano\u201d was produced by the Establecimiento Metal\u00fargico Rocha, a metallurgical workshop located in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The factory was active from 1946 until around 1980, producing a vast range of toy home appliances in pressed steel sheet under the brand DAISA. Foki was their first robot, and the first toy of its kind to be designed and manufactured in South America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
This 24cm (9.5 inch) robot houses a 3R12 4.5V battery in its torso. Image: Diego M. Lascano.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Foki was an intelligent alien robot that aimed to educate children by evaluating their knowledge of subjects such as science, history, and geography. The robot was the centerpiece of a quiz board game based on \u201cEl Cerebro M\u00e1gico\u201d (The Magic Brain) which had been produced in Argentina by Balbachan since 1949.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The game used quiz books with embedded wires, and by touching the probes in Foki\u2019s hands to a question and the corresponding answer, a circuit was completed, lighting up the two lightbulbs (which serve as his eyes) behind the robot’s mask. In fact, the word \u201cFoki\u201d might be a shortened version of \u201cfoquito\u201d, the word for flashlight bulbs in Argentina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Foki in the children’s magazine Billiken, on October 30, 1967: \u201cKids, here is the famous wise robot Foki the Martian. Lighting up his eyes, he accurately answers the incredible questions in his electronic book. It is entertainment for the whole family.\u201d Image: Diego M. Lascano.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

South American context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During World War II, commercial traffic disruptions made it impossible to import toys into South American countries from Europe. As a result, the region’s emerging toy industry had to step up to compensate for this shortage. The most prominent local toymakers, who had established their factories during the 1930s and 1940s, increased their production of toys, mainly made of tin, wood, composite materials, and lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the war, Japanese and German toys flooded the South American markets with their competitive prices. In the 1950s, postwar cultural changes introduced science fiction through comics, movies, and toys. The \u201cSpace Age\u201d grew strong in children\u2019s imaginations. South American toymakers paid close attention to new market trends, so they began producing toys with a futuristic spirit, influenced by the science fiction that seemed to become reality in the years to come. Most of these toys were based on foreign samples, and very few were of original design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a way, this home appliance-looking robot envisioned a future where friendly aliens would make contact, and extraterrestrial artificial intelligence would educate us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The box appears to have been designed after the first version in 1967, as evidenced by the presence of the Lunar Module Eagle from Apollo 11’s 1969 mission in the illustration. Image: Diego M. Lascano.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Diego M. Lascano<\/strong> was born in C\u00f3rdoba, Argentina in 1962 and is a specialist in military history, conflict archaeology, and the history of the toy industry in South America. He is an audiovisual producer, researcher, publisher, and writer who has authored numerous books and articles in Argentina, Chile, France, and Uruguay. He currently resides in Uruguay. You can read more of Diego’s articles about the tin toys of South America on the Jouets Anciens website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first toy of its kind to be designed and manufactured in South America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-childish-things"],"yoast_head":"\nWise Robot Foki the Martian - Digital Childhoods<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/foki-the-martian\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wise Robot Foki the Martian - Digital Childhoods\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The first toy of its kind to be designed and manufactured in South America.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/foki-the-martian\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Digital Childhoods\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-03T00:00:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-03T17:10:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/03-Daisa-Foki-the-Martian-1024x949.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"949\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"dgeditor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"dgeditor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/foki-the-martian\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/foki-the-martian\/\",\"name\":\"Wise Robot Foki the Martian - Digital Childhoods\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/foki-the-martian\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/foki-the-martian\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/03-Daisa-Foki-the-Martian.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-03T00:00:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-03T17:10:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/#\/schema\/person\/a47f86ab7f4d4eab5e01653df55c4806\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/foki-the-martian\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/foki-the-martian\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/foki-the-martian\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/03-Daisa-Foki-the-Martian.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/shcydigitalchildhoods.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/03-Daisa-Foki-the-Martian.jpg\",\"width\":2204,\"height\":2043,\"caption\":\"Foki operating with the quiz book. 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