aalNov 25, 2022
Chris Trottier

The first computer bug was a literal bug.

To be exact, a moth.

On Sept 9, 1947, a moth got trapped in Harvard University's Mark II computer -- causing multiple errors.

This bug disrupted the electronics inside the Mark II.

Here's a photo of that first computer bug.

Nov 25, 2022 at 7:58amWeb
Show threadEmma (IPG)Nov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet i'm curious, is this why the name "bug" was given to computer errors?
Show threadChris TrottierNov 25, 2022
@ipg Yes.
Show threadhugovangalen 🤖 🕹️ 😼Nov 25, 2022

@atomicpoet I remember reading the word "bug" was used way before 1947.

I could only find Edison's use of it in 1878 but I remember reading about an even older reference but a quick search didn't help me find it.

Edited to add link to source: https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/the-origin-of-the-term-computer-bug

@ipg

What is the origin of the term "computer bug"?

Computer bugs are occupational hazards for programmers and software developers. But have you ever wondered about the origin of the term computer bug?

Interesting Engineering
Show threadAriaflameNov 25, 2022
@hvangalen Insects appear to have a propensity to get into places they should not.
Show threadAldo McAldoNov 25, 2022
@ariaflame @hvangalen kinda like computers... 😋
Show thread@dlenaresNov 25, 2022
@hvangalen @atomicpoet @ipg
From Oxford English Dictionary
Show thread@dlenaresNov 25, 2022
@hvangalen @atomicpoet @ipg I'm a librarian (at MIT). I can't help myself.   🤓
Show threadhugovangalen 🤖 🕹️ 😼Nov 25, 2022

@Dlenares @atomicpoet @ipg Cool, yeah that rings a bell! I remember that originally 'bug' already meant a glitch in a system and was in use before computers were a thing. The first *computer bug* is of course still the one mentioned by the OP, which poetically happened to be a real bug.

Thanks for looking it up!

Show threadProf. Tatiana IlyinaNov 26, 2022
@hvangalen @Dlenares @atomicpoet @ipg
Love this discussion on the origin of bugs in computers and other machines 😍
So for code debugging, one should be using insecticide, naphthalene, or similar.
Show threadDavid HembrowNov 26, 2022
@TatianaIlyina @hvangalen @Dlenares @atomicpoet @ipg Why not DDT ? It's been a while, but CP/M's Dynamic Debugging Tool (DDT) worked pretty well as I recall.
Show threadProf. Tatiana IlyinaNov 26, 2022
@hembrow @hvangalen @Dlenares @atomicpoet @ipg
OMG, yes DDT and I thought of Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane which was banned in 1970s 😅
Show threadDavid HembrowNov 26, 2022
@TatianaIlyina @hvangalen @Dlenares @atomicpoet @ipg It was only banned in some parts of the world, and then of course we replaced it with a multitude of other insecticides with all sorts of other effects.
An aside: In the early 70s, when I was still in primary school and years before I used CP/M, we did a school play about bioaccumulation and DDT. This was well after "Silent Spring" of course and these problems were quite common knowledge but for some reason we just keep using that stuff anyway.
Show threadProf. Tatiana IlyinaNov 26, 2022
@hembrow @hvangalen @Dlenares @atomicpoet @ipg
More than half a century after Silent Spring and we write doctoral dissertations on the topic. Mine was actually about modeling the fate of pollutants like pesticides and insecticides in the sea.
Show threadhugovangalen 🤖 🕹️ 😼Nov 26, 2022
@hembrow @TatianaIlyina @Dlenares @atomicpoet @ipg Haha I just made a DDT joke totally unaware that it already did exist. Of course it does, because many coders are a funny bunch!
Show threadhugovangalen 🤖 🕹️ 😼Nov 26, 2022

@TatianaIlyina Someone called Daisy should create and release a Debugging Toolkit. 😅

@Dlenares @atomicpoet @ipg

Show threadnearDec 8, 2022
@hvangalen @atomicpoet @ipg i remember that too, "bugs" have been called bugs before. hopper quipped when finding out a literal bug caused the error, she didn't invent it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_bug?wprov=sfla1
Software bug - Wikipedia

Show threadMarcelo MagallonNov 25, 2022

@atomicpoet

@ipg

The sentence "first actual case of bug being found" suggests the word was already in use with that sense before the incident.

Show threadHairyloonNov 26, 2022
@atomicpoet @ipg
A moth is not a bug...
Neither is a month, which is what spell check would have had me post.
Show thread🇺🇦 haxadecimal 🚫👑Nov 25, 2022
The use of "bug" to meant a fault in a system predates that, and was part of the reason that was logged, for being a literal bug rather than only a figurative one.
Show thread🇺🇦 haxadecimal 🚫👑Nov 25, 2022
That's why it says "First actual case of 'bug' being found".
Show threadNigel Jay CooperNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet no idea if this is real or fake but I love it so much!
Show threadChris TrottierNov 25, 2022
@Nijay Real. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/grace-hoppers-bug
Grace Hopper's Bug

A computer bug so primitive it was an actual insect.

Atlas Obscura
Show threadDuncan BateyNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet @Nijay "Though the moth anecdote is often falsely credited with the creation of the computing terms “bug” and “debug” (these were actually used as early as Edison), it accurately provides a glimpse of the wit and cleverness of Admiral Grace Hopper."
Show threadRafoe (רפוא) RademakerNov 25, 2022
@Nijay @atomicpoet It is real. It became trapped in a (mechanical) relay.
Show threadregphuntNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet yes, 100% true. 👍
Show threadSebNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet If Britain had carried on developing computers after the War then bugs would be called Creepy Crawlies.
Show threadJProl 🌍🎶💾🆓🐦Nov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet And this is why a patch is named "patch"
Show threadkrayneumNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet And in fact, this was the origin of the term “software bug.”
Show threadDuncan BateyNov 25, 2022
@krayneum @atomicpoet from the article posted above "Though the moth anecdote is often falsely credited with the creation of the computing terms “bug” and “debug” (these were actually used as early as Edison), it accurately provides a glimpse of the wit and cleverness of Admiral Grace Hopper."
Show threadkrayneumNov 26, 2022
@FakePlasticDunk @atomicpoet This is what I get for fact-checking myself against Wikipedia.
Show threadDuncan BateyNov 26, 2022
@krayneum @atomicpoet oops :⁠-⁠)
Show threadMichaelNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet Admiral Grace Hopper who found the first "bug" was an amazing technologist and doesn't get the recognition she deserves imho. One of my IT heros!
Show threadZgou 🐝Nov 25, 2022

@atomicpoet Actually, the term "bug" was already used for at least 50 years ! And this paper was probably a joke :)

https://daily.jstor.org/the-bug-in-the-computer-bug-story/

The Bug in the Computer Bug Story - JSTOR Daily

Soon after a team of engineers discovered a moth in a machine at Harvard, the word "bug" became a standard part of the programmer's lexicon. Or did it?

JSTOR Daily
Show threadJan-Theo WassinkNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet That might also count as the first incident report.
Show threadLordMelburyNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet they named that moth Elon Musk
Show threadEndarethNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet Sorry, this one’s an urban legend, have a read of https://ourplnt.com/first-computer-bug/. The term has been used for a lot longer than that.
The first "actual" computer bug was found on September 9, 1947 - Our Planet

On Sep. 9, 1947, programmers traced an error and found a moth trapped in a relay. Some say this was the first case of a computer bug, but it's not true.

Our Planet
Show threadLiz ChurchNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet This is part of our origin story. Do we know which species?
Show threadJJM_DigimediaNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet
😄
Show threadNesersertNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet
Show threadC_Mee_GoNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet interesting I knew it was a physical bug, but I al aya thought it was a beetle, no idea why 🤷‍♀️
Show threadMarcelo MagallonNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet
It took me a little bit to realize that that's not a photo of the moth, it's the actual moth taped to the report.
Show threadBc Clarity Carlton-MartinNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet #OO Organic Origins
Show threaddnparadiceNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet some insight from someone that writes code to help manufacture microprocessors; This is a great story and a great pun. Having a moth in a relay is literally a computer bug, not to be confused with a bug in software. A literal bug in software that fulfills the requirement for a pun would need a line of code such as >> if('moth'): where 'moth' is not an argument that can be parsed by if() thus causing an error in execution, introduced by a literal moth in the code, get it ... literal
Show threadLaura BlankenshipNov 25, 2022

@atomicpoet And coined by Admiral Grace Hopper, a programming pioneer.

#WomenInTech #WomenInCS

Show threadSpinnerNov 25, 2022

@atomicpoet

Tuttle becomes Buttle, and it's all down hill from there.

Show threadToot Suite Nov 25, 2022

@atomicpoet (moth) in relay

what a banger of a band name

Show threadWesDymNov 25, 2022

@atomicpoet The term 'bug' for 'fault, problem' dates from 14th c. ME 'bugge' (scarecrow, demon, hobgoblin), blamed for unexpected problems. The term eventually referred to the problems themselves.

As the note shows, what made this case notable was that it was an ACTUAL bug (insect), which would have been funny because of the coincidence of terms. The etymology of the term 'bug' for living creatures is different.

It was not the first computer bug, but it was the first caused BY a bug.

Show threadHistory HeroesNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet We're backing you up: it's a fact on our Grace Hopper card in our SCIENTISTS game - it must be true! 😀 #stem
Show threadPeter BinkleyNov 25, 2022
@atomicpoet it's important (ok, important only to me probably) to know that they did that because bugs were already a metaphor for glitches in radio equipment etc. during WW2 and earlier (the OED has an instance from 1875), so the joke here was that the bug was an actual bug this time, I hope this footnote contributes to everyone's enjoyment of the humour
Show threadAlex, the Hearth FireNov 26, 2022
@atomicpoet heck of a bug report
Show threadAsYetYarnsNov 26, 2022
@atomicpoet what synchronicity - I just found this out today whilst teaching my year 9s to talk to a rubber duck to help them problem solve! I may also have bought them a whole bunch of rubber ducks to talk to 🤣
Show threadCyber YukiNov 26, 2022

@atomicpoet Back in college one of our teachers told us about this incident, he had a very humorous style and made the occasional wife joke. Between the laughs we learned how the first computer bug had been fried in the vacuum tubes, causing the malfunction.

(turns out it wasn't a vacuum tube, it was a relay, so perhaps it got electrocuted instead of burnt?)

Anyway, the programmer wins: It was a hardware error 😁

Show threadniconiconiNov 26, 2022
@yuki2501 @atomicpoet It was not really the first computer bug, "bug" was already a well-known term for design errors in engineering slang. Grace Hopper's note said that it was the "first actual case of bug", implying the existence of previous imaginary bugs.
Show threadJason DidnerNov 26, 2022
@atomicpoet @Holberg and this was born the phrase, “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!”
Show threadPat CadiganNov 26, 2022
@atomicpoet I love that the first computer bug was, in fact, a bug
Show threadHairyloonNov 26, 2022
@atomicpoet
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H1p7HLr68Zc
CHARLIE AND LOLA: BUT THAT IS MY BOOK WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES.flv

YouTube
Show threadTrondCNov 26, 2022
@atomicpoet
Show threadTarren (They/Them)Nov 26, 2022
@atomicpoet Oh wow! I never knew that, but it makes sense. Bug in the hardware, bug in the software.
Show threadchrisNov 26, 2022

@atomicpoet I so want this to be the first and to be true - but I’m going to be contrarian. If you read the annotation under the moth, it reads “first actual case of bug being found”.

To me that suggests that the term ‘bug’ was already in use and the writer was wryly amused that this bug was caused by an actual bug.

#PartyPooper

Show threadKarsten™️Nov 26, 2022

@atomicpoet The bug was discovered by Dr. Grace Hopper, who invented COBOL, helped build UNIVAC, and is the only computer programmer to have a battleship named after them.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper

Grace Hopper - Wikipedia