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Why do we call computer glitches “bugs”?

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3 m
Dec 12, 2018
Categories
Computing
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Engineering & Technology
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Article
Profile picture for user Sonia Mendes
By: Sonia Mendes
Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation
Source: Curiosity
A page from the Harvard Mark II electromechanical computer's log, featuring a dead moth that was removed from the device.
Photo Credit
U.S. Naval Historical Center
A page from the Harvard Mark II electromechanical computer's log, featuring a dead moth that was removed from the device.

The term “bug” is another way of saying something is wrong with our computer or software, but where did the term come from? While many attribute the reference to computer scientist Grace Hopper, this article from Curiosity explains that it dates back to Thomas Edison’s private journals.

 

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Why do we call computer glitches “bugs”?
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Thomas Edison, Grace Hopper, computer science
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Sonia Mendes
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Sonia Mendes is the English Writer/Editor for Ingenium. She loves digging behind the scenes to tell the quirky, colourful stories of museum life and all things related to science and innovation.

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Sonia Mendes
Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation
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