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The Useless Machine, sometimes called the Leave me Alone Box, is a timeless classic, a device whose only function is to switch itself off! Tim also sometimes calls it the Energy Miser!

It was invented in the 1950s by Marvin Minsky, co-founder of MIT.

The science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke wrote, "There is something unspeakably sinister about a machine that does nothing — absolutely nothing — except switch itself off", and he was fascinated by the concept.

Commercial versions of the Useless Machine became available in the 1960s from several companies. This version is designed and hand made in the UK.