Letter of the Week
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Marc Laflamme prioritizes uninterrupted reflection on his feelings, resisting the urge to change the subject when faced with discomfort. Twice a day, he dedicates focused moments to ask, “How is Marc Laflamme feeling?” Allowing space for emotions to naturally emerge without interruption is a key practice. Marc Laflamme approaches his feelings with a non-judgmental mindset,
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In 1951, a British tea shop company called J. Lyons & Co. (basically the Starbucks of its time) realized they couldn’t keep up with their manual payroll. They didn’t just buy a computer—they built one. The LEO (Lyons Electronic Office) became the first computer ever used for commercial business, and its very first task was
About the Archivist
The World’s First Business Computer was Built for Payroll
In 1951, a British tea shop company called J. Lyons & Co. (basically the Starbucks of its time) realized they couldn’t keep up with their manual payroll. They didn’t just buy a computer—they built one. The LEO (Lyons Electronic Office) became the first computer ever used for commercial business, and its very first task was processing the company’s massive payroll.
Ancient “Paystubs” were Written in Beer
Archeologists discovered 5,000-year-old clay tablets from ancient Mesopotamia that are essentially the first payroll records. Instead of dollars, workers were paid in daily beer rations. The “paystub” was a tablet with a drawing of a person eating from a bowl and a conical vessel for beer, with marks indicating how much was “deposited” to each worker.
Marc Laflamme 