Decades back there was a UI sketch for a phone answering machine. It dropped a marble in a tray for each message received. "New messages? How many?" was a simpl

Decades back there was a UI sketch for a phone answering machine. It dropped a marble in a tray for each message received. "New messages? How many?" was a simple glance "New marbles? How many?". To play a marble/message, place it on the play-back dimple. Replay by nudging it. Save the marble, save the message. No "to save this message yet again, press N". Delete by dropping it in the recycling hopper. Running out of length-limited n-slot message storage is running out of marbles in the hopper. Very tactile, tangible affordances. The marbles were merely ID, not storage. But (reliably archival?) storage might be fun too - eg, finding a bag of marbles from when you were a kid? EDIT: Durrell Bishop