Tech wrecks: Lessons from some of the biggest hardware screw-ups
- 6 of 6
First computer bug — Hopper’s Aiken Relay Calculator
When we think of bugs today, they’re usually a software problem. This poor moth, though, was found stuck in the early Aiken Relay Calculator that Grace Hopper’s team was trying to program in 1947. While the moth’s namesakes — computer bugs — have been responsible for hundreds of disasters of all sizes, and likely thousands of deaths, this poor critter did nothing more than cause the group to waste some time and it gave up its life for post-mortem glory. Amazingly, the text “First actual case of bug being found” was actually written in their log by the operators who found the moth. How did they know that bugs and debugging would go on to become two of the most famous terms in computing?
That’s actually the more interesting part of the story — the real history of the term bug. It turns out that there was an antecedent for the use of the word that explains the log entry. Edison, decades earlier, had described the process of troubleshooting a technical glitch in his phonograph as looking for an (imaginary in this case) bug. Even Edison may have borrowed the term from telegraphers — Edison got his start in telegraphy — who used it to describe problems possibly due to insects getting into the cables. So it makes sense that Hopper’s team, with a sense of humor, would refer to the moth as an “actual case” of a bug being found. Perhaps the lesson here is that you don’t have to be the first to use a term to become the one famous for it. Probably no consolation to the now infamous moth.
Purists will point out that the bug isn’t really a technical flaw, but I wanted to end the article on a humorous note because, frankly, failed hardware usually isn’t all that funny. And in any case, the photo is too good to pass up.
- 6 of 6