first bug was a myth

From: William Donzelli <william_at_ans.net>
Date: Wed Feb 11 08:35:35 1998

> Well, the moth does indeed exist. It was taped into the book by
> Adm. Grace Hopper, probably best rememberd for her creation of COBOL.
> But I understand that this is _not_ actually the origin of the term "bug"
> to describe a mechanical/engineering problem or glitch. Apparently,
> the term pre-dates the appearance of this moth in this particular relay.
> Unfortunately, I do not have any direct evidence of this, it's just
> what I've read. I'd love to find some references to "bugs", meaning
> mechanical glitches, pre-dating the 1940's.

Yes, indeed the term "bug" is older than th earliest electrical computer.
As eveidence, one could check out some of the 1930s issues of QST (a
hamradio magazine), and the term shows up. If I could dig them out, I
could give you exact dates.

William Donzelli
william_at_ans.net
Received on Wed Feb 11 1998 - 08:35:35 GMT