There’s nothing we like better than to be able to write about a totally non-controversial subject. It is difficult to express our joy when the matter is so clear and accepted that […]
How Do You Pronounce GIF?
For 50 Years the U.S. Nuclear Computer Used 8-Inch Floppy Disks
In the 1983 movie WarGames, NORAD’s computer system is so sophisticated that it becomes sentient and assumes control of the nation’s nuclear arsenal. The film leaves its viewers pondering the wisdom of […]
The First Email Was a Typo and Took an Hour to Send
Have you ever waited impatiently for an important email, wishing your internet connection wasn’t so slow? When that email arrived, did it generate more questions than answers? If that has been your […]
How Much Does the Internet Weigh?
At first glance, asking about the weight of the internet may seem to be as nonsensical as inquiring about the flavor of one of Mozart’s compositions. It isn’t as if the internet […]
What Was the First Thing Sold on eBay?
One of the most successful internet businesses in history is eBay. Started in 1995, the online auction site has grown to over 187 million users, 1.7 billion listings, facilitated over $100 billion […]
Work Out and Lose Weight By Mouse Clicking
If your lifestyle finds you seated in front of your computer for most of the day, that’s no reason to give up the quest for physical fitness. You can turn everyday activities […]
Was the USA Nuclear Launch Code Really ‘00000000’?
In the 1983 movie WarGames, the fictional W.O.P.R. succeeds in hacking NORAD’s launch code, revealed to be “CPE1704TKS.” National security experts at the time reassured the public that the movie was a […]
The World’s Most Complex Game is Too Complicated for a Computer
If you are one of those people who have difficulty remembering the rules for games, you may wish to avoid Magic. It has been classified as the most complex game in existence. […]
Can You Master the Complexity of the Malbolge Computer Language?
When it comes to complicated things, you will be hard-pressed to find anything that is worse than Malbolge. It takes the complexity of computer programming, the nuances of foreign languages, and mixes […]
The Most Expensive Hyphen In History
It has been called the most expensive hyphen in history. That is a bit of a misstatement. It was actually the most expensive overbar in history, but since most of us have […]
The U.S. Navy Uses Xbox 360 Controllers on its Submarines
At $2.6 billion, you would think there is nothing cheap about the Virginia-class submarines of the U.S. Navy. The massive subs are 114.9 meters (377 feet) long and displace 7,800 tons of […]
Quirks and Madness at the IRS
As previously noted here, the IRS has a contingency plan for collecting taxes in the event of the end of the world as we know it. Curiously, this is not the strangest […]
Could an Infinite Number of Monkeys Really Reproduce the Works of Shakespeare?
It has been said that if you give enough monkeys enough time to peck away at typewriters, they will eventually, through random chance, reproduce the works of William Shakespeare. That’s an interesting […]
Andy Rooney on the Usefulness of Computers
Andy Rooney (1919-2011) had a career as a writer for over 60 years, but he insisted upon using a manual typewriter, even into the 21st century. In explaining his reticence in switching […]
Meet the Man Responsible for All the Spam Email You Ever Received
Some inventors regretted their creations so much that they actively worked to compensate for their misguided genius. Alfred Nobel was haunted by the realization of what his creation of dynamite would mean […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 