Five fascinating facts, part one: Computing

Throughout December on social media, you might have spotted our “fact a day” advent calendar. In the next couple of blogs, we’re doing a deep dive on some of our favourite tidbits from each of our project topics- starting with computing.

1. Computing error? Check for real life “bugs”!

The Harvard Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator was an early electromechanical computer. It was built and programmed by computing pioneers Howard Aiken and Grace Hopper. On September 9, 1947, a team of computer scientists and engineers working on the computer found that it was delivering consistent errors. When they investigated, they traced the problem back to an unexpected source: a moth trapped in the computer’s hardware! Clearly entertained by this discovery, they recorded it in their logbook as “first actual case of bug being found”, taping the moth alongside it as evidence.

2. Robot citizens: no longer just sci-fi!

Sophia is a humanlike robot who was developed by Hong Kong-based company Hanson Robotics. Since being switched on in 2016 she has made quite an impression, appearing on talk shows, in music videos and at conferences around the globe. Perhaps most impressively, however, she is also the first robot to receive citizenship of any country, having been made a Saudi Arabian citizen in 2017.

Image source: Sophia at the AI for Good Global Summit 2018 by ITU Pictures is licensed under CC BY 2.0

3. Forget ten - you can count up to 1023 on your fingers!

Yes, really! Using binary numbers, it’s possible to count up to 31 on one hand- or 1023 using both. The trick is to assign each of your fingers a binary value: the thumb on your right hand becomes one, and each finger to the left of it gets double the value of the previous finger- so your right pointer finger is two, the right middle finger is four, the right ring finger is eight… and so on. To show the numbers in between these values, you just need to hold up the right combination of fingers- for example, right pointer finger (two) + left little finger (32) + left middle finger (128) = 162. Why not give it a go yourself?!

4. Early versions of Excel often contained hidden games!

When they’re not busy creating some of the world’s most popular software packages, it seems that Microsoft’s developers keep themselves entertained by unleashing their creative sides. “Easter eggs”, or hidden features, were discovered in several old versions of Excel, including a 3D flight simulator in Excel 97, a racing action game in Excel 2000- and the creepily-titled “Hall of Souls” in Excel 95. Bad news if you were looking forward to uncovering some hidden gems in your next update though: Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing Initiative put an end to the practice in the early ‘00s.

5. Bits, bytes, and… nibbles?!

It might sound unlikely, but “nibble” really is a computing term. Also spelt nybble or nyble, this unit of information is equivalent to half a byte, or four bits. The term “crumb” has also been used to refer to a quarter byte, or two bits. Who knew data could make us so hungry?!