I read about this in a manual for different calculator. I did not understand what exactly they did, because I did not understand what the tax was (was something totally different from VAT). However they did multiplication + dividing by addition at the same time. was totally crazy, but without the same calculator for which they explained it was very hard to understand it.
Very interesting video, I might try to get a Curta myself one day ... But I have to notice that the calculation is incorrect: when you pay 1000 € this equals 119%, because the VAT is added to the net value. So the net value would be 1000 / 119 * 100 = 840.34 € (100%) and the tax would be 1000 / 119 * 19 = 159.66 €
3:51 as I imagine you know, the pips in the lower track can be used to mark decimals as a memory aid. You still need to adjust the decimals manually according to the algorithm employed. EDIT: ah, of course you mention this just a couple minutes later.