Today`s card shows Brains, from "Thunderbirds", for two reasons. Firstly that all learning difficulties are a result of how our brains process language, numbers, and abilities - but secondly if we look at the character Brains, he is described as a scientist, an engineer and the designer of all the machinery and computerisation of International Rescue, which, like Einstein, involved many hours alone, working on codes and formulas, and tinkering with machines.
We also know that he stuttered when he spoke - and that form of speech disorder, with frequent repetitions and silent sections in which the speaker is struggling to find the right word, is also characteristic of learning difficulties. It is not that they don`t know the word, but they are hunting for it, almost looking through the filing cabinets inside their brain.
Gerry Anderson described Brains as being pre-occupied with his work and experiments, but socially unsure of himself, and we know he would have liked to explore him more, but the network thought that Brains` stammering slowed the action, so in the first series he was not used as much as the rest of the cast. Sadly, during the second series, his stammer became less pronounced, so though this meant he was used more, I think it was a missed opportunity for all the children watching, not just because it would have made the condition part of their everyday experience, but also have encouraged childhood stammerers to imagine that they could find their tribe in science.
In fact on his first appearance on a card, in 1966, was card 8 of Barratt`s "Thunderbirds", he is described as "the vital member of the International Rescue Team . A young genius, he is the mastermind behind all the Thunderbird machines. He is very serious - often absent minded - and is never satisfied with the inventions he produces".
Later on, courtesy of Cards Inc`s "Thunderbirds", issued in 2001, we are told that he was "Born on 14 November 2040, Brains was orphaned when a hurricane struck his Michigan home and was adopted at the age of twelve by a Cambridge University professor. During a worldwide search for a brilliant scientist Jeff Tracy discovered Brains, lecturing in Paris. The inventor of all International Rescue`s dazzling machines the twenty-five year old is a perfectionist who is often to be found endlessly modifying and tinkering with his creations. To protect his identity in the outside world, Brains goes by the name of Hiram H. Hackenbacker; his real name is unknown."
This set was released in the UK in 1993, and came in packets of six. The wording on the front of the packets is not well defined, and has led to the set being popularly known as just "Thunderbirds", the remaining "Are Go" of the title being rather lost in a busy design and a very light print/colour. The packets contained six cards and cost 25p. The checklist was never included in the packets, it had to be sent away for. And there was also a card binder, which didn`t cost anything, only a stamped, self addressed envelope.
However if you bought the cards from Toys R Us you could get a starter pack with a plastic swap box, which is today quite sought after, all the more so because whilst this set was being circulated, Pro Set went into receivership.
