# The Computer "Bug", Mothra, and Regis **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 23, 2000, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-computer-bug-mothra-and-regis/20255 "2000-05-23T03:57:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FreakFreely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/48db29/32.png) [@FreakFreely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FreakFreely)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-computer-bug-mothra-and-regis/20255/1 "2000-05-23T03:57:56Z")
Saw it on that Millionaire show. Guy was asked which creature was responsible for the origin of the computer term “bug”. He said “Moth” and got paid. I recall reading a solid debunking of this urban myth (you may recall, supposedly a moth fluttered onto one of Eniacs tubes and blew its programming, hence “bug”). OK, so I’d rather be a millionaire than be right, but still… A true Cecilian must strive against ignorance! Even if it entails smug pedantry!! Also remember another where the correct answer was the Geneva Convention was from 1949? Huh? Dont I remember WWII flicks where the Bad Guys scoffed at the thing? Or am I suffering from Reagan’s Syndrome? ---
**Author:** ![Quadzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/a4c791/32.png) [@Quadzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quadzilla)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-computer-bug-mothra-and-regis/20255/2 "2000-05-23T04:40:49Z")
> [@](#): > > . Guy was asked which creature was responsible for the origin of the computer term “bug”. He said “Moth” and got paid. I recall reading a solid debunking of this urban myth (you may recall, supposedly a moth fluttered onto one of Eniacs tubes and blew its programming, hence “bug”). Ummm…actually, it is true. [http://www.awc-hq.org/lovelace/1983.htm:](http://www.awc-hq.org/lovelace/1983.htm:) The woman who was responsible for a great deal of ENIAC research/development, Navy Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, discovered that a moth was caught in some of the vacuum tubes of the Mark II and had caused a minor failure in the system. She spotted it with her compact mirror and pulled it out, saying that she had “de-bugged” the computer. ---
**Author:** ![Quadzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/a4c791/32.png) [@Quadzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quadzilla)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-computer-bug-mothra-and-regis/20255/3 "2000-05-23T05:11:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Also remember another where the correct answer was the Geneva Convention was from 1949? Huh? Dont I remember WWII flicks where the Bad Guys scoffed at the thing? Or am I suffering from Reagan’s Syndrome? You probably do. According to…[http://users.erols.com/redxcmc/fauq-hs2.html](http://users.erols.com/redxcmc/fauq-hs2.html), there are actually several Geneva Conventions. I apologize for the length of this post in advance. > [@](#): > > The First Geneva Convention (1864): > > Addressed the principle of fair and humane treatment to the wounded and sick military personnel in land war. > > This Convention establishes humanitarian principles for the protection of the wounded and sick in the armed forces in the field, as well as military and Red Cross doctors, nurses and other medical personnel, and chaplains. Hospitals sheltering the wounded and sick, vehicles transporting them, and medical equipment must also be protected. > > The Second Geneva Convention (1907): > > This convention extends the humanitarian principles of the First Convention to the care of the wounded,sick, and shipwrecked members of the armed forces at sea. > > The Third Geneva Convention (1929): > > Provided for the proctection of prisoners of war. Military personnel and auxilliaries who are captured or who surrender must have their lives spared and be provided with adequate food, clothing, housing, and medical care. The seriously ill must be repatriated. The names of the prisoners of war must be sent immediately to a Central Prisoner of War Information Agency (traditionally operated by the International Committee of the Red Cross), and the prisoners must be allowed to correspond with their families and to receive relief parcels. > > The Fourth Geneva Convention (1949): > > The three existing Conventions were revised, and a Fourth was added: > > This Convention sets forth principles for the protection of civilians in time of war, in particular those in occupied territory, with special care for the wounded and sick, women and children, and the aged. Civilian population in occupied territory must, insofar as circumstances permit, be enabled to live in a normal manner. > > Two additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 were adopted by the Diplomatic Conference of Governments in 1977: > > The first reaffirms and expands the rule or the protection of war victims, especially the civilian population; the second supplements and develops the rule of protection of victims of non-international armed conflict. > > The Conventions shall apply in all cases of war or armed conflict, even if a state of war is not recognized by one of the belligerents. Persons taking no active part in the hostilities or those placed hors de combat (out of combat) by sickness, wounds, detention, or for any other cause, shall, in all circumstances, be treated humanely, without distinction as to race, color, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria. > > Violence to life and person, the taking of hostages, and outrages on personal dignity are strictly forbidden. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-computer-bug-mothra-and-regis/20255/4 "2000-05-23T05:12:51Z")
They were right about the Geneva Convention, too. I just did a search on Excite and found that it was signed on August 12, 1949. Thus, any mention of it in a World War 2 film would be an anacronism. BTW: all the films I’ve seen where the bad guys scoff at the Geneva Convention have been about the Vietnam war, or were those “going back for the POWs” movies from the 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-computer-bug-mothra-and-regis/20255/5 "2000-05-23T05:15:46Z")
Oops. My first post appeared after Quadzilla’s. I guess FreakFreely is right, then. My bad. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-computer-bug-mothra-and-regis/20255/6 "2000-05-23T13:35:25Z")
I saw the Geneva Convention question on WWTBAM but I can’t remember what the other answer choices were (besides 1949). Does anyone know how the question was worded? Did it specifically deal with what was addressed in the 1949 Convention? If the question only asked _when_ the GC was established, I don’t see how “1949” could really be considered the correct answer. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-computer-bug-mothra-and-regis/20255/7 "2000-05-23T13:56:13Z")
About the term “bug”, the alt.folklore.urban faq has this to say. The initial letter tells you whether the legend is true or false: T. In 1947 a moth was found in a relay of the Harvard Mark II machine, and taped into the logbook as the “first actual case of bug being found”. F. Grace Hopper coined the term “bug” as a result of this event. T. “Bug” was used to mean a design defect as far back as Edison’s time. ---
**Author:** ![Quadzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/a4c791/32.png) [@Quadzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quadzilla)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2000, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-computer-bug-mothra-and-regis/20255/8 "2000-05-24T03:49:19Z")
> [@](#): > > F. Grace Hopper coined the term “bug” as a result of this event. Correct. I think she came up with the term “debugging.”