Buzz
The fourth-grade students in Gail Freeman’s Bronx classroom were unaware of how unique their learning environment truly was. To them, Leachim, a towering six-foot, 200-pound robot stationed in their room, seemed like just another part of their educational tools. Kids would walk up to Leachim, input a code, and listen as it greeted them by name in a slightly robotic voice.
Hi, Susan. How are you doing? Let’s start our lesson.
Programmed with details about Freeman’s class, a wealth of encyclopedia data, a dictionary, and a playful sense of humor, Leachim spent three years engaging students. It encouraged them to respond to multiple-choice questions by pressing buttons labeled Yes/No or True/False on its chest. Michael Freeman, Gail’s husband and the robot’s creator, invested $15,000 of his own funds to develop this innovative tool, designed to adapt lessons for different ages and learning abilities.
Leachim was operational from 1972 to 1975, but Freeman eventually grew weary of maintaining its database and dedicating time to repairs. He envisioned Leachim (an anagram for Michael) being produced on a larger scale to benefit more children.
Featuring light bulb eyes and limited mobility, Leachim served as the prototype. It was 2-XL that would ultimately realize Freeman’s dream of creating the world’s first intelligent toy.
Born in 1947, Freeman’s fascination with robotics was always ahead of its time. At just 13, he won the Westinghouse Science Talent Search [PDF] with Rudy, a robot that could be wheeled around and lift a drink tray when a button on its back was pressed. In the 1970s, as an assistant professor of computer sciences at Baruch University in New York, Freeman developed the more sophisticated Leachim. Pleased with its interactivity, he aimed to make it more compact.
Freeman’s next endeavor was “Little Leachim,” a smaller version of Leachim that seemed as though it had been shrunk. Standing just a foot tall, Little Leachim could sit on a desk and use 8-track cassette tapes to ask and answer questions. For instance, it might ask if George Washington was the first U.S. president. Users could press a yes or no button, and the robot would respond with praise or criticism based on their answer. Correct answers often led to jokes, while incorrect ones prompted the robot to encourage more studying.
Freeman secured a patent for Little Leachim in 1975. By 1978, he convinced Mego Corporation—famous for their superhero dolls—to mass-produce the robot. Mego’s John McNett renamed it 2-XL (“To Excel”) and, to address its generic appearance, added a chin to the design using a spare part from their Micronauts toy line.
Within just a year, 2-XL became a must-have item in toy stores. Despite its high price—ranging from $50 to $80—Mego sold over 200,000 units by mid-1979, along with countless 8-track tapes covering subjects like history and science. Critics who claimed that an expensive educational toy would fail were proven wrong.
Freeman provided the voice for the robot, which kept Leachim’s witty tone. Mego received over 2000 fan letters monthly. At a time when computers with basic processing power cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, 2-XL was a standout.
Although designed for education, 2-XL was still categorized as a toy. Like many popular toys, its time in the spotlight was short-lived. Falling sales led Mego to stop production in 1981. Other interactive toys, such as Teddy Ruxpin, emerged, combining lifelike features with more attractive designs.
When 2-XL made a comeback in 1992, Tiger Electronics gave it a modern update. It featured noticeable arms and a more detailed face. Its eyes and mouth lit up in sync with its speech, and its lessons—now on standard audio cassettes—included interactive stories featuring Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Unlike its predecessor, it also operated on batteries.
Freeman once again lent his voice to the robot, delivering lines with energetic flair (“question” became “ques-tee-yon”) and humor (“What do you call two banana peels? A pair of slippers!”), adding to its unique appeal.
With his popularity surging again, 2-XL returned to Freeman’s initial vision for Leachim: a 10-foot-tall version debuted on Pick Your Brain, a syndicated children’s game show hosted by Double Dare star Marc Summers. The giant robot posed questions and provided commentary during the show.
Sadly, the show only ran for one season, and in 1995, Tiger discontinued the updated 2-XL. In 2002, Freeman collaborated with Fisher-Price to create Kasey the Kinderbot, a friendlier, LED-enhanced toy designed for preschoolers.
Though the toy is remarkable, it’s the original 2-XL that paved the way for Siri, Amazon’s Echo, and other interactive devices, captivating kids who might not typically engage with educational tools. By simulating artificial intelligence, 2-XL inspired countless real-world innovations.
