According to legend, the first bug was found in the Mark II, a huge electromechanical computer
at Harvard University. It really was caused by a bug—a moth was trapped in a relay
switch.
Actually, from the note that the operator left in the log book next to the moth (see
Figure 13), it appears as if the term “bug” had already been in active use at the time.
The pioneering computer scientist Maurice Wilkes wrote: “Somehow, at the Moore
School and afterwards, one had always assumed there would be no particular difficulty in getting programs right. I can remember the exact instant in time at which it dawned on me
that a great part of my future life would be spent finding
Figure 13 The First Bug
mistakes in my own programs.”
The First Bug
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