A little trivia for technology · EJM FutureTech Innovators

A little trivia for technology

Got a minute? Here are a few bite-sized tech trivia nuggets that always spark a wow—or at least a nod of recognition.

The first computer bug wasn’t a glitch in software; it was a real moth. In 1947, a team debugging a Harvard Mark II found a moth stuck in a relay, and they taped it in the logbook as the “first actual case of a bug.” The term stuck, and here we are.

A programming language can’t be faster than the hardware it runs on, but a clever compiler can make it feel dramatically quicker. The same algorithm, rewritten in a different language or optimized by the compiler, can shave seconds off a task that takes hours in another language. It’s a reminder that “fast” often starts with how you tell the machine what to do.

IPv6 addresses are 128 bits long, which means roughly 3.4×10^38 unique addresses. That’s enough to give every grain of sand on Earth a trillion IPs and still have rooms to spare for all the future devices—assuming we actually use them. The real win isn’t just more addresses; it’s simplified routing and improved security features baked in.

The Turing completeness test isn’t about speed or magic; it’s about expressive power. A system is Turing complete if it can simulate any computer algorithm given enough time and memory. That’s why even some toys and esoteric languages can compute anything a real computer can—if you push them hard enough.

In data storage, “1s and 0s” aren’t always the story. Magnetic domains, optical pits, and even DNA in the far future all store bits. The core idea is the same: a state that encodes information. The medium may change, but the quest to compress, protect, and retrieve data endures.

What’s your favorite tech trivia fact? Share one you love or a curious tech tidbit you’m hoping to learn more about.

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