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From: cfh@cca.UUCP (Christopher Herot)
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: Re. etymology of foo
Message-ID: <5626@cca.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 1-Sep-83 22:44:25 EDT
Article-I.D.: cca.5626
Posted: Thu Sep  1 22:44:25 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 4-Sep-83 23:34:21 EDT
References: ihuxi.543
Lines: 6


The IBM 1130 (actually one of the first personal computers) used
to indicate errors by pausing and lighting up the hex digits
F00n in the console lights.  One looked up n in the list of
"foo" errors to find out what went wrong.  I believe this goes back
to the days when Edson DeCastro was still at DEC.