Found in the Machine

Listeners, please note that this episode was recorded before the show’s name changed to Found in the Machine, so you’ll hear the old name in this episode.

Every programmer knows 'foo' as the "insert name here" of software development. But where did it come from? And what does it have to do with 'bar'?

In this episode, we trace the history of foo in programming back through three unlikely chapters: a Depression-era comic strip, a WWII air squadron, and a group of MIT students who built a computer underneath a model train set. The story runs through hacker culture, computing folklore, and a very strange corner of World War II history.

In this episode

• Bill Holman and Smokey Stover - a 1930s comic strip and a catchphrase that accidentally entered the computing lexicon
• The Foo Fighters - not the band; the original phenomenon, and the airmen who named it
• The Tech Model Railroad Club - MIT's legendary hacker origin story, and why their emergency switch matters more than you'd think

Episode music 

• George L. Cobb,  Public Domain
  • "Procrastination Rag (1927)"
• Jay Opie / Nihilore, CC BY 4.0
  • "The Illusion of Cold"
  • "Man Alone Chimes the Hour"

Additional Reading

Eastlake, D., Manros, C., & Raymond, E. (2001, April 1). Etymology of "Foo" (RFC 3092). Internet Engineering Task Force. https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3092.txt

Smokey Stover LLC. (n.d.). Smokey Stover online. https://www.smokey-stover.com/

What were the mysterious "foo fighters" sighted by WWII night flyers? (2016, July 20). Air & Space Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/what-were-mysterious-foo-fighters-sighted-ww2-night-flyers-180959847/

Samson, P. R. (2005). The TMRC dictionary (Annotated 1st ed., originally compiled 1959). https://www.gricer.com/tmrc/dictionary1959.html 

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Support the show

💚

This show is independently produced. You can support the show by joining the show's Patreon. Patreon members get access to "Found in the Margins" bonus episodes and help make the show possible. You can also donate via Buy Me a Coffee.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And don't forget to sign up to receive Notes from the Machine with each episode.

Every line of code has a story. Most of us just never hear it. 

Found in the Machine is a narrative technology podcast about the forgotten history of computing, software, and the internet. Each episode uncovers the true story behind a piece of computing history or internet lore to surface the forgotten people, decisions, and accidents that quietly shaped the digital world. 

If you've ever wondered who actually made something you use every day, and why you've never heard their name before, you'll feel at home here. This show is for the curious, not the credentialed. You don't need a technical background to follow along. You just need to be the kind of person who pulls on threads. 

New episodes every other week.

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Support the show

💚

This show is independently produced. You can support the show by joining the show's Patreon. Patreon members get access to "Found in the Margins" bonus episodes and help make the show possible. You can also donate via Buy Me a Coffee.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And don't forget to sign up to receive Notes from the Machine with each episode.