Ever wondered where the term ‘bug’ came from? Well, on September 9, 1945, U.S. Navy officer Grace Hopper found a moth between the relays on the Harvard Mark II computer she was working on. In those days computers filled (large) rooms and the warmth of the internal components attracted moths, flies and other flying creatures. Those creatures then shortened circuits and caused the computer to malfunction.
The term ‘bugs in a computer’ had been used before, but after Grace Hopper wrote in her diary “first actual case of bug being found” the term became really popular, and that’s why we are still using it today.
If you have a few minutes left, check her Wikipedia profile. Hopper was one of the first computer geeks in the world and went on to create the first compiler for a computer programming language and worked on the development of COBOL. She also coined the phrase “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.”
