I never knew the 555 was not patented. No wonder it ruled supreme, a bit like the Compact Cassette did with it's free license.The legendary electronic industry workhorse IC, the 8-pin 555 timer, was first introduced (unpatented!) by Signetics in 1972.
Yep, big day. That's the day's traffic you can see parked outside the post office.The main street still looks as busy as when I was there.