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bsnsHistory · Today · 10 min

The Bug That Got the Credit Wrong

Everybody knows the story: Grace Hopper found a moth in a computer, taped it into a logbook, and invented the word "bug." On September 9, 1947, engineers working on Harvard's Mark II computer really did find a moth jammed in a relay, and it really did get taped into the machine's logbook with the note "first actual case of bug being found." What doesn't hold up is the rest of the legend. The word "bug" had been used by engineers for decades before that afternoon, including by Thomas Edison in 1878, and the logbook entry itself was likely written by someone other than Hopper. What actually happened is that she told the story for the next 45 years until it became permanently attached to her name, a small case study in how a good story from a credible source can outrun the facts. This is bsnsHistory, the daily podcast about the moments when business quietly reshaped the world. Written and hosted by Ron Trucks. Research and editing by Rodney Russ. Sound design by Angela Cahoy. Music by Cody Martin and Soundstripe. For more daily business stories, visit www.bsnsDAILYpodcasts.com

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Everybody knows the story: Grace Hopper found a moth in a computer, taped it into a logbook, and invented the word "bug." On September 9, 1947, engineers working on Harvard's Mark II computer really did find a moth jammed in a relay, and it really did get taped into the machine's logbook with the note "first actual case of bug being found." What doesn't hold up is the rest of the legend. The word "bug" had been used by engineers for decades before that afternoon, including by Thomas Edison in 1878, and the logbook entry itself was likely written by someone other than Hopper. What actually happened is that she told the story for the next 45 years until it became permanently attached to her name, a small case study in how a good story from a credible source can outrun the facts. This is bsnsHistory, the daily podcast about the moments when business quietly reshaped the world.

Written and hosted by Ron Trucks. Research and editing by Rodney Russ. Sound design by Angela Cahoy. Music by Cody Martin and Soundstripe.

For more daily business stories, visit www.bsnsDAILYpodcasts.com

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