#OnThisDay September 9, 1947, engineers at Harvard University discovered something unusual inside the Harvard Mark II computer. Not a coding mistake, not a glitch… but a real bug.
Read the full thread to know the story of the first computer bug ...
Read the full thread to know the story of the first computer bug ...
While running diagnostics, the machine suddenly malfunctioned. Upon inspection, engineers found a moth trapped inside one of the computer’s relays. The insect had literally caused the failure.
The team carefully removed the moth and taped it into the logbook, noting it as the “First actual case of bug being found.”
Yes, they logged it like proper scientists: documentation mattered—even for moths.
Yes, they logged it like proper scientists: documentation mattered—even for moths.
This wasn’t the first time the term “bug” was used for technical issues (Thomas Edison had used it in the 1800s).
But this was the first literal computer bug. And the story stuck.
But this was the first literal computer bug. And the story stuck.
The logbook page with the taped moth is preserved at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History—a quirky reminder of how language and technology intertwine.
So next time you’re fixing a bug in code, remember: once upon a time, engineers had to debug by pulling actual moths out of machines.
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