My K&E slide rule is packed away with my work stuff.......haven't used it since organic chemistry in 72-73......by the time I did my lab year in 84-85, I used a TRS 80 for calculations. I cannot part with it though I never use it....a fond talisman of an era gone forever!
Peter
I used a slide rule (Dietzgen) all through high-school and college - indeed it was an early birthday present from my parents when I started 9th grade.
In college a lot of the engineering and science majors (myself included) would wear the slide rule case strapped to our belt. It gave the appearance of "packing" (and, in a sense we were 
). I still have mine and I've never forgotten how to use one although it has been decades since I last used it for anything.
As for the comment on significant figures - how true and even more so today. It is quite common to see an analysis performed with data good to just a single significant digit reported out to 3 or even 4 "significant" digits - or as my professors used to say - "empty precision."
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