American Science and Surplus is a seller of surplus and educational goods, many of which are obscure or odd. AS&S is also known for its humorous, hand drawn catalogs. Items range from oscilloscope

Oscilloscope

An oscilloscope is a type of electronic test instrument that allows observation of constantly varying signal voltages, usually as a two-dimensional graph of one or more electrical potential differences using the vertical or 'Y' axis, plotted as a function of time,...

s to reproduction fossils, Soviet military surplus parts and radio-controlled toy rats. Some examples of recent humorous entries include:

• "Make Molds For Free! Just leave bread in a damp place. Or buy this plaster
  Plaster
  Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
  
  ."
• "This Russian Soviet-era microscope comes with an undetectable KGB
  KGB
  The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
  
   microphone at no extra cost."
• (Ad for a plastic soap box) "Not the kind you stand on to speak at Hyde Park Corner
  Hyde Park Corner
  Hyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...
  
  , but the kind Mom fills with a bar of soap and send off to camp with little Paulie in the vain hope that he will wash himself."
• "The computing speed of this fine abacus
  Abacus
  The abacus, also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used primarily in parts of Asia for performing arithmetic processes. Today, abaci are often constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires, but originally they were beans or stones moved in grooves in sand or on tablets of...
  
   is considerably slower than even an old 286, but then again, it's guaranteed to never need rebooting."

History

American Science and Surplus was founded around 1937. It has existed in many forms since its original conception as a means of supplying the general public with scientific equipment. Over the years many of the same products, as well as the store's original purpose, remain.

Retail Stores

Currently there are three American Science & Surplus retail stores in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 and Geneva, IL and Milwaukee, WI. The stores offer a much wider inventory than the catalogs.

External links

• sciplus.com