PHOTO: WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, WHS 45756

Assembled from 227 tractor and implement parts, "Harvey Harvester" became a staple of International Harvester Co.'s appearances at state fairs. Built in the 1930s, the so-called "farm bot" was meant to suggest such automatons would replace immigrant farm labor as workers'-rights movements grew stronger. Shown here at a 1960 state fair, the 8-foot tall robot had been renamed "Tracto" and upgraded with two tractor wheels. Tracto's eyes lit up, and he chatted with attendees thanks to a concealed microphone and a staffer who transmitted from a hidden position nearby.