Re: [TUHS] 70th anniversary of (official) programming errors

[Dan Cross <crossd@gmail.com>]

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On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 6:55 PM John Cowan <cowan@ccil.org> wrote:

> On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 6:25 PM Steffen Nurpmeso <steffen@sdaoden.eu>
> wrote:
>
>> As not being hard-to-the-core i may have missed it, but also in
>> 1951, in March, the wonderful Grace Hopper "conceives the first
>> compiler, called A-O and later released as Math-Matic.  Hopper is
>> also credited with coining the term 'bug' following an incident
>> involving a moth and a Mark II.
>>
>
> Yes, but wrongly.  The label next to the moth is "First actual case of bug
> being found", and the word "actual" shows that the slang term already
> existed then.  Brief unexplained faults on telephony (and before that
> telegraphy) lines were "bugs on the line" back in the 19C.  Vibroplex
> telegraph keys, first sold in 1905, had a picture of a beetle on the top of
> the key, and were notorious for creating bugs when inexperienced operators
> used them.  (Vibroplex is still in business, still selling its
> continuous-operation telegraph keys, which ditt as long as you hold the
> paddle to the right.)
>

Indeed, the Vibroplex key is called a "bug". I suspect this has something
to do with its appearance more than anything else, though (it kinda sorta
looks like, er, a bug).

        - Dan C.

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