Since the inception of computers and the emergence of the Internet, numerous intriguing facts have come to light that many of us in the software development field might not fully appreciate.

While researching various historical milestones in computing, I stumbled upon some enlightening facts, along with a few that were simply entertaining.

Here are 100 fascinating insights:

1. Computers were once a profession rather than machines. Individuals could be employed as computers. (source)
2. Initially, programming was predominantly viewed as a female occupation. The first programmer, Ada Lovelace, and the first coder, Klára Dán von Neumann, were both women, along with the first six programmers of ENIAC. (source)
3. The term “bug” was popularized by Grace Hopper after a moth was discovered causing a malfunction in a machine. (source)
4. The first “breakpoint” in debugging involved literally unplugging a wire to check an intermediate result, a term introduced by Elizabeth Hoberlton. (source)
5. When archiving and compressing files, the command tar is used, which stands for Tape Archive, despite the obsolescence of tapes. (source)
6. The “mouse” got its name because the screen cursor was originally referred to as CAT, although the inventor couldn't remember why. It seemed logical for a cat to chase the mouse's tail (wire). (source)
7. If you possess multiple computer mice, the correct term is “mouses,” not mice. (source)
8. John von Neumann, known as the Father of the Modern Computer, also conceptualized the first self-replicating program, marking the beginning of computer virology. (source)
9. When Google unveiled Gmail with 1GB of free storage, many believed it was a joke, especially since it was announced on April Fool's Day in 2004, when Hotmail only offered 2MB. (source)
10. Sundar Pichai, who later became Google's CEO, joined the company on April 1, 2004, coinciding with Gmail's launch. (source)
11. Steve Jobs departed from and returned to Apple on the same date, 12 years apart: September 16, 1985, and 1997. (source)
12. In 1994, Guy Kawasaki predicted that Steve Jobs would eventually sell NeXT back to Apple, three years before it occurred. (source)
13. In the 2000s, the computers in cell phones were a million times cheaper and a thousand times more powerful than the single computer at MIT in 1965. (source)
14. The domain Facebook.com was first registered on March 29, 1997, before the social media platform was established, and was initially owned by a different entity. Facebook acquired it for $200,000 in 2005. (source)
15. Facebook successfully sued Manx for using the domain face-book.com, even though Manx registered it in 2004, while Facebook acquired facebook.com in 2005. (source)
16. The Windows operating system was internally known as “Interface Manager” back in 1981. (source)
17. The name “Google” originated from a typographical error; it was meant to be googol, representing a vast number. (source)
18. Steve Jobs chose the name Apple because he was fond of the fruit and suggested it to Wozniak after visiting an orchard. (source)
19. YouTube was initially registered on February 14, 2005, with the intention of being a dating site where users could share videos about themselves. (source)
20. The first antivirus program, Reaper, was itself a virus created to delete the Creeper worm. (source)
21. It can be said that Android was first introduced at Apple, as its founder Andy Rubin earned the nickname while working there. (source)
22. Kotlin was named after Kotlin Island, mirroring how Java was named after the Indonesian island. (source)
23. Java was not named after the actual island but rather the coffee type. (source)
24. Ruby was considered before Java's naming, alongside various other options, including Oak and Greentalk. (source)
25. Ruby was named after Perl, as the creator noticed that Ruby followed Perl in various contexts. (source)
26. The AWK terminal command on Unix derives its name from its authors' surnames: Alfred Aho, Peter Weinberger, and Brian Kernighan. (source)
27. Haskell Brooks Curry, an American mathematician, has three programming languages named in his honor, along with the mathematical technique of currying. (source)
28. The first word sent over the Internet was “lo” on October 29, 1969, intended to be "login," but the computer crashed after the first two letters. (source)
29. In BASIC programming, each line of code must have a line number for easier edits, typically in increments of ten. (source)
30. The first database software for microcomputers, dBase, was created on PTDOS, prior to the existence of MSDOS or CP/M. (source)
31. The renowned computer scientist Dijkstra once said, “A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a formula is worth a thousand pictures.” (source)
32. In Silicon Valley, it is challenging to be a CEO, but it is possible for identical twins to serve as CEOs, as demonstrated by George and Thomas Kurian. (source)
33. Microsoft sued a website for registering the domain MikeRoweSoft.com, leading to an out-of-court settlement. (source)
34. Contrary to popular belief, Tim Berners-Lee used a NeXT computer to establish the first web server at CERN. (source)
35. The phrase “Surfing the Internet” was coined by a librarian to convey the enjoyable randomness of online exploration. (source)
36. CERFnet, an early Internet service provider, published a comic titled “The Adventures of Captain Internet and CERF Boy,” which may have popularized the surfing term. (source)
37. “The Mother of All Demos” held on December 9, 1968, forecasted many technological advancements before they were popularized by Microsoft and Apple. (source)
38. This demo coincides with Grace Hopper's birthday, who is often referred to as the Mother of Computer Science. (source)
39. “Windows” was not originally a Microsoft term; it was developed at Xerox PARC, which introduced the WIMP model for graphical interfaces. (source)
40. Both Apple and Microsoft faced lawsuits over user interface similarities, with Xerox initially losing to Apple. (source)
41. Xerox was initially named Haloid Photographic Company before changing its name in 1961, with "Xerox" deriving from “dry writing.” (source)
42. The Red Hat Linux distribution was named after a red cap that founder Marc Ewing wore, which was given to him by his grandfather. (source)
43. Apple was founded by three individuals: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, who sold his share shortly after establishment. (source)
44. The iconic Apple logo with a bite is often associated with the forbidden fruit, although the designer states it was to differentiate it from a tomato. (source)
45. The original Apple logo depicted an apple tree with Isaac Newton, without any bite. (source)
46. The first Apple computer was sold for $666.66, a price chosen for its mathematical appeal rather than any satanic connotation. (source)
47. The name Apple was partly influenced by the phone book, as Jobs wanted to be ahead of Atari. (source)
48. The original Macintosh concept was developed by Jef Raskin in 1979, who named it after his favorite apple. (source)
49. Steve Jobs never personally coded for Apple, though he was technically proficient enough to influence designs. (source)
50. Upon acquiring Twitter, Elon Musk made headlines by bringing a kitchen sink to the office, captioning his post, “Entering Twitter HQ — let that sink in!” (source)
51. CAPTCHA is an acronym for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.” (source)
52. While acronyms like CATPCHAT, WYSIWYG, and ARPANET may seem lengthy, the longest known acronym is BICARSA GLAPPR, relating to various IBM mainframe applications. (source)
53. The first emoticons appeared in 1982, a decade before the first SMS was sent. (source)
54. On December 28, 1969, both Linus Torvalds and Neil Papworth were born, the former creating Linux and the latter sending the first SMS. (source)
55. Linus Torvalds did not name Linux; it was named by Ari Lemmke without consulting him. (source)
56. Torvalds initially wanted to call Linux Freax, a blend of “free,” “freak,” and “X” for Unix-like systems. (source)
57. He developed Git after criticism over using BitKeeper for Linux development, with the name reflecting various moods. (source)
58. Junio Hamano contributed significantly to Git's development, often noted for being more agreeable than Torvalds. (source)
59. The name Google was actually suggested by a Stanford student named Sean Anderson, not by the founders. (source)
60. The first smartphone, IBM’s Simon Personal Communicator, debuted in 1994, predating the term "smartphone." (source)
61. Android was originally designed as an operating system for cameras, not smartphones. (source)
62. Hands-on Scala Programming is authored by Haoyi Li, the son of Singapore's Prime Minister. (source)
63. Tetris derives its name from the word Tetra (for tetrominoes) and the creator’s love for tennis, holding a record for the most ported video game. (source)
64. Early computer purchases were often driven by spreadsheet software, with VisiCalc being particularly influential for Apple computers. (source)
65. The Altair 8800, the first commercially successful computer, required assembly and did not include peripherals like a keyboard or monitor. (source)
66. The first successful personal computer was not from Silicon Valley but from Albuquerque, New Mexico. (source)
67. Ed Roberts, known as the Father of the Personal Computer, transitioned from engineering to medicine at 45, previously employing Gates and Allen. (source)
68. IBM earned the nickname Big Blue due to its logo color, later naming its chess-playing computer Deep Blue. (source)
69. WIFI technology can be traced back to Hedy Lamarr's Frequency Hopping invention, which she developed during her Hollywood career. (source)
70. The first operating system for personal computers was CP/M, not any version of DOS. (source)
71. MS-DOS was once called Microsoft Dirty Operating System, a play on its original name, QDOS. (source)
72. The “my” in MySQL is named after its creator's daughter, not the possessive form in English. (source)
73. Both Java and MySQL were released on May 23, 1995, by different companies but are now owned by Oracle. (source)
74. Microsoft Office was first developed for the Apple Macintosh in 1989 before reaching PC platforms a year later. (source)
75. Susan Kare, the first graphic designer for Macintosh, had no prior computer graphic experience and drew inspiration from embroidery techniques. (source)
76. The ball mouse was conceived in a mere five minutes, with its inventor describing the quick patent process. (source)
77. ASCII became a federal standard in 1968, initially intended for teleprinters before gaining popularity with PCs. (source)
78. The logo for Adobe was created by one of the founder’s wives and has been a symbol of creativity since the company’s founding in 1982. (source)
79. JavaScript was developed in just ten days by Brendan Eich in 1995, evolving through several name changes. (source)
80. The first microcomputer version of BASIC was co-written by Gates, Allen, and Davidoff for their company, Micro-Soft. (source)
81. The Epigram on Programming was published in September 1982 by Alan J. Perlis, the first recipient of the Turing Award. (source)
82. Turbo Pascal was introduced by Borland with a Book License, meaning it couldn't be used simultaneously by two individuals in separate locations. (source)
83. The phrase “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” was not originally by Steve Jobs, who quoted it during a commencement speech, having read it in the Whole Earth Catalog. (source)
84. “As We May Think,” published in 1945, predicted many future digital advancements, such as hypertext and online encyclopedias. (source)
85. The name iPhone was registered by Infogear in 1996, years before Apple's release. (source)
86. Despite being rivals, iPhones utilize components from Samsung, such as display and memory chips. (source)
87. A ternary computer operates with three values instead of two. The first modern electronic ternary computer, Setun, was built in 1958 in the Soviet Union. (source)
88. PHP stands for both “PHP: Hypertext Processor” and “Personal Home Page.” (source)
89. Sam Altman briefly served as CEO of Reddit, holding what may be the shortest tenure for a reputable software company. (source)
90. Apple Lisa was named after Jobs' daughter, despite initial claims that the acronym represented Locally Integrated Software Architecture. (source)
91. Queen Elizabeth II sent an email via Arpanet in 1976, becoming the first head of state to do so. (source)
92. Hotmail, the first web-based email service, launched on July 4, 1996, symbolizing freedom from ISP-based email. (source)
93. Eudora Welty, an American author, inspired the name of the Eudora email client with her short story “Why I Live at the P.O.” (source)
94. The GIF format was originally created for image data transmission between different hardware systems, not for animation. (source)
95. The creator of GIF, Steve Wilhite, pronounced it as “jif,” while others prefer “gift.” (source)
96. PNG was developed to replace GIF, with its name meaning “PING Is Not GIF.” (source)
97. cURL stands for “Client and URL” but also cleverly refers to “Curl URL Request Library.” (source)
98. The name GNU serves as a recursive acronym for “GNU's Not Unix,” fulfilling several naming requirements. (source)
99. Two notable StackOverflow questions are “What is Your Best Programming Joke?” and “What’s Your Favorite Programming Cartoon?” (source)
100. A quirky fact: Octal 31 equals Decimal 25, showing an interesting coincidence between Halloween and Christmas.

I hope you found these facts enjoyable! Feel free to share this with your friends.

If you have other interesting insights, please respond to this blog and let me know. Cheers!