# Tell us an interesting random fact you stumbled across (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785 "2024-07-25T15:06:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 137
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2721 "2025-06-24T16:03:04Z")
Margaret Hamilton, NASA’s lead software engineer for the Apollo Program, stands next to the code she wrote by hand that took Humanity to the moon in 1969. [Link.](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fjucpijqylzc21.jpg%3Fwidth%3D640%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Dc9b3ac83372cf29be4ab8a45d993bb6ad4145d97) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2722 "2025-06-24T16:28:51Z")
French General Maxime Weygand (issuer of those Letters of Transit in _Casablanca_ whose name is confused with ”DeGaulle” when uttered by Peter Lorre) was, with some amount of proof, the illegitimate grandson of Austrian minister Klemens von Metternich; one of the most powerful men in Europe in the years between Waterloo and the rebellions of 1848, reliant upon “a standing army of soldiers, a sitting army of bureaucrats, a kneeling army of priests, and a crawling army of spies.” ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2723 "2025-06-24T17:59:12Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Margaret Hamilton, NASA’s lead software engineer for the Apollo Program, stands next to the code she wrote by hand that took Humanity to the moon in 1969. Tribute in LEGOs [![](https://scienzapertutti.infn.it/images/stories/scienziati/Margaret-Hamilton_fig4.png) ](https://scienzapertutti.infn.it/images/stories/scienziati/Margaret-Hamilton_fig4.png) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2724 "2025-06-24T18:30:45Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > [Link.](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fjucpijqylzc21.jpg%3Fwidth%3D640%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Dc9b3ac83372cf29be4ab8a45d993bb6ad4145d97) Why has my every effort to convert that to a Discourse-friendly .jpg failed? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2725 "2025-06-24T19:28:03Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Margaret Hamilton, NASA’s lead software engineer for the Apollo Program, stands next to the code she wrote by hand that took Humanity to the moon in 1969. Great 60s look! I think I owned a pair of shoes exactly like those. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2726 "2025-06-24T19:51:20Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Why has my every effort to convert that to a Discourse-friendly .jpg failed? Some sites have images with unfriendly linkages. [![](https://static-xl.xlsemanal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/02/margaret-hamilton-matematica-informatica-ordenador-llevo-hombre-luna-4.jpg) ](https://static-xl.xlsemanal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/02/margaret-hamilton-matematica-informatica-ordenador-llevo-hombre-luna-4.jpg) It can be a challenge to find one you can embed. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2727 "2025-06-24T19:52:29Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Margaret Hamilton, NASA’s lead software engineer for the Apollo Program, stands next to the code she wrote by hand that took Humanity to the moon in 1969. > > [Link.](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fjucpijqylzc21.jpg%3Fwidth%3D640%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Dc9b3ac83372cf29be4ab8a45d993bb6ad4145d97) Wow, a prolific coder and a witch! Quite accomplished. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2728 "2025-06-24T19:59:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wow, a prolific coder and a witch! Quite accomplished. And school board member. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2729 "2025-06-24T20:01:35Z")
And she is less than 2 months shy of her 89th birthday. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2730 "2025-06-24T21:43:01Z")
I’ve seen that photo before. Absolutely amazing. I’m a programmer. The biggest application I’ve ever written is 10,000 lines. Daunting to say the least. That might fill 1/2 of one the dozen or so books of code she is standing by. And she had the processing power of maybe a 286. Probably less. And they where going on a life or death mission. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2731 "2025-06-24T21:48:25Z")
And she didn’t have an IDE nor debugging tools. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2732 "2025-06-24T21:49:50Z")
What language was she writing in? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2733 "2025-06-24T21:51:34Z")
Assembler(!) ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2734 "2025-06-24T21:52:17Z")
My question as well. Assembly? Machine code? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2735 "2025-06-24T21:53:08Z")
[Apollo Guidance Computer - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer#:~:text=AGC%20software%20was%20written%20in,and%20stored%20on%20rope%20memory). ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2736 "2025-06-25T15:56:03Z")
She is noted for paying attention to fault-tolerance (exception handling), which prevented the Apollo 11 LEM from crashing when the crew overtaxed its capabilities. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2737 "2025-06-25T21:31:30Z")
It being assembly language does slightly mitigate that huge stack of printed code, though. Assembly languages aren’t noted for their line efficiency. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2738 "2025-06-25T21:57:06Z")
And, of course, assembly language tends to be somewhat opaque: probably two thirds of the content of that stack is the documentation of the code. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2739 "2025-06-25T22:13:59Z")
Could be, but it took the programming community a minute to realize the value of extensive documentation. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/2740 "2025-06-26T15:35:21Z")
Can we be the actual SDMB for a moment and fact check? Hamilton is a brilliant programmer, but she didn’t hand-code that entire stack by herself. There is a LOT of half-true disinformation about her and that picture. [Here’s an exhaustive reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/badhistory/s/K9dRzduBtu) that brings receipts and debunks the lazy “facts” that get thrown around and confirms the cool stuff she actually did do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=136) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=138)