Here’s a modern establishment that uses retro tech: Chuck E. Cheese, whose animatronic figures receive their directions from 3.5″ floppy disks. This secret was revealed by an employee named Stewart on his TikTok channel as he installs the latest program at his location.

@showbizpizzaman

How to install a new show at Chuck E. Cheese

♬ original sound – Stewart

This is the last floppy-based update Stewart will make at his restaurant, as floppy disks are no longer the standard at Chuck E. Cheese and are in fact diminishing in their use. Notes Buzzfeed:

Of the over 600 Chuck E. Cheese locations worldwide, fewer than 50 restaurants still have the quarter-century–old “Studio C” layout of animatronics that uses these floppy disks. 

Katie Notopoulos

Other institutions that have been known to still or recently use floppy disks include United States nuclear system, Boeing 747s, and San Francisco subways. Do you know of other examples? Please leave a comment!

In case floppy disks aren’t enough of an Apple II tie-in for you: Chuck E. Cheese was founded in 1977 by Nolan Bushnell, who previously founded Atari, which employed Steve Jobs prior to the founding of Apple Computer Inc.

Hat tip Buzzfeed via MSN via Matt Stath on the KansasFest email list.

Ken Gagne

Editor & publisher of Juiced.GS, the Apple II community's longest-running print publication dedicated to the Apple II; co-host of the Star Trek podcast Transporter Lock; digital nomad at Roadbits.