The Kosmos 1 'Love Machine' is an unusual combination biorhythm and four function calculator that was first produced in 1977. Manufactured in a eye-catching red enclosure, the Kosmos 1 was marketed specifically towards women as a dating tool to measure compatibility with potential mates. Biorhythms are a largely discredited form of numerology based around the theory that people operate on three cycles tied to the date of birth, and that two people's compatibility can be determined based on their respective birth dates. The Kosmos 1's unusual space-age display contains a set of six LED's below the main digit readout, which indicate the state of a person's three cycles when the biorhythm function is used. Fortunately the Kosmos 1 can also be used as a normal 4 function calculator; an internal Texas Instruments TMS1100 microcontroller contains the software for both the calculator and biorhythm functions. The Kosmos 1 was also produced in a much more common 'gender neutral' grey version, targeted towards the general calculator user's market. Other than the case color and packaging, which dropped the "Love Machine" name and marketing, the two versions of the Kosmos 1 are identical.
While the mental imagery of a stereotypical 1970s lady in a singles' bar using a Kosmos 1 to check compatibility feels like a scene straight out of Logans Run, the Kosmos 1 apparently sold well enough for several successive versions to be built. In 1979 Kosmos also started manufacturing the Kosmos Astro, a combination biorhythm and astrology calculator, which was sold in the US as a Radio Shack store brand item.
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