RadioShack was a pretty good resource for those hobbyists. I was also an electronics hobbyists as a kid, and RadioShack was a critical part of that. Today I don

RadioShack was a pretty good resource for those hobbyists. I was also an electronics hobbyists as a kid, and RadioShack was a critical part of that. Today I don’t think they sell any discrete components. They used to have shelves upon shelves. So with that availability combined with the rapid prototyping ability of breadboards I’m not surprised that plenty of electronics hobbyists could exist.