A car wash for floppy disks: This crazy machine entertains you while it cleans [Video]

Why it matters: Many enthusiasts continue to keep floppies and the data they contain alive. However, their fragility poses an obstacle – dust, fingerprints, and scratches can all be formidable enemies when it comes to preserving those digital memories. But one clever British retro-computing enthusiast has come up with a wonderfully bizarre solution for resurrecting your crusty old floppies.

Rob Smith unveiled his automatic floppy disk cleaning contraption earlier this year at the Amiga Kickstart event in Nottingham, where he says it “put a smile on just about everyone’s face.” This thing is wild – it’s basically like a miniaturized automatic car wash, except it hoses down floppies.

All you have to do is pop in a filthy old 3.5-inch disk and the machine does all the dirty work for you (literally). Using spinning isopropyl alcohol-coated brushes, it scrubs away …