For #ShackToberfest, we do a deep cut into the Adafruit Blog to come up with this 2010 post about a Wired article discussing Radio Shack and the kindred spirits who go there.

The Lost Tribes of RadioShack: Tinkerers Search for New Spiritual Home – WIRED Magazine…
Andy Cohen waves his arm at the electrical miscellany hanging around him, showing off his tubular lugs and a box labeled “81-piece terminal assortment”. Cohen is holding court at the back of the RadioShack store he owns in Sebastopol, California.
To his left, a tattooed kid fishes through a metal chest of drawers labeled “fast-acting/slow-blow 3ag-type”. Another cabinet is labeled “capacitors: electrolytic, radial (pcb-mount) leads, axial (in-line) leads”. Behind him, a spinning rack is hung with baggies containing dozens of different brass and gold solderless connectors.
They’re the little widgets you think of when you think of RadioShack — the sort of electronic parts the company once had a near monopoly on but that are increasingly hard to find there. Cohen gets much of his supply direct from China.
“Where are you going to find all these different kinds of solder? A selection of five soldering irons? All these connectors?” Cohen says. “Other RadioShacks, they hide this stuff or don’t buy enough of it anymore. We go out of our way to show you these things.”
See the article here.
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Microcenter is the closest thing to radio shack, if you’re fortunate enough to live near one.
When I was a teenager, RadioShack was the only source for electronics in my area. I was a sucker for the ICs. They were usually labeled “no time to test them”. This was an euphemism for they never work. Before DIP packaging, the chips had fragile connections that would tear off when trying to remove them from being glued to a piece of Styrofoam. When I would order something through USPS, it required sending an order form with a check to the vendor, paying an excessive handling and shipping fee, and waiting several weeks for delivery. I give credit to Amazon (and Adafruit) for making ordering easier.
I remember fighting over the huge catalog that came in the mail with my Dad and Brother! Eventually I became an electrician then an electrical engineer. Radio Shack was a huge positive influence on me!!
Our local Radio Shack was much like the one described in the article. It must have been a winning formula as it stayed open till fall of 2023 when the owners retired. They specialized in selling to local hams and electronics buffs, I'm still looking for a local replacement for my electronics component needs.
Radio Shack & Heath Kit when I was young.