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Some of my favorite hacker folklore: Always Mount a Scratch Monkey http://edp.org/monkey.htm http://edp.org/monkey.htm The Magic Switch https://www.cs.utah.ed

Some of my favorite hacker folklore: Always Mount a Scratch Monkey http://edp.org/monkey.htm http://edp.org/monkey.htm The Magic Switch https://www.cs.utah.edu/~elb/folklore/magic.html https://www.cs.utah.edu/~elb/folklore/magic.html Quake3's Fast InvSqrt() https://www.beyond3d.com/content/articles/8/ https://www.beyond3d.com/content/articles/8/ The Battle Chess Duck http://blog.codinghorror.com/new-programming-jargon/ http://blog.codinghorror.com/new-programming-jargon/ (#5) and of course, The Story of Mel, a Real Programmer https://www.cs.utah.edu/~elb/folklore/mel.html https://www.cs.utah.edu/~elb/folklore/mel.html edit to add: Ford and the $10,000 chalk mark (Ctrl+F Ford) http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/charles-proteus-steinmetz-the-wizard-of-schenectady-51912022/ http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/charles-proteus-steinm...

frank_jaeger 10y ago
Big second for Quake's Fast InvSqrt, that is a really cool story.
Splines 10y ago
Another favorite of mine. I won't spoil it, it's an entertaining read: http://www.ee.ryerson.ca/~elf/hack/recovery.html http://www.ee.ryerson.ca/~elf/hack/recovery.html
- megablast 10y ago
  That is awful. Surely there was a sign attached saying that this equipment is attached to live Monkeys - not just a "do not remove" sign.
marcosdumay 10y ago
I just love the magic switch. It's so obviously impossible, yet anybody that built complex hardware has seen equally impossible things happen.
- nickpsecurity 10y ago
  That was so fun and a great prank whether true or not. Like you, I've seen enough oddities to think it's possible. I'm going to challenge two hardware guys I know... one an expert on esoteric stuff. to come up with a way to make that happen. Maybe I'll do it to a RaspPI at a maker space near MIT to screw with them. ;)
- nibnib 10y ago
  If the case of the switch was connected to the unused terminal it may have served a purpose by connecting signal and chassis grounds. I prefer the idea that it was magic :)

frank_jaeger 10y ago

Big second for Quake's Fast InvSqrt, that is a really cool story.

Splines 10y ago

Another favorite of mine. I won't spoil it, it's an entertaining read: http://www.ee.ryerson.ca/~elf/hack/recovery.html http://www.ee.ryerson.ca/~elf/hack/recovery.html

megablast 10y ago
That is awful. Surely there was a sign attached saying that this equipment is attached to live Monkeys - not just a "do not remove" sign.

marcosdumay 10y ago

I just love the magic switch. It's so obviously impossible, yet anybody that built complex hardware has seen equally impossible things happen.

nickpsecurity 10y ago
That was so fun and a great prank whether true or not. Like you, I've seen enough oddities to think it's possible. I'm going to challenge two hardware guys I know... one an expert on esoteric stuff. to come up with a way to make that happen. Maybe I'll do it to a RaspPI at a maker space near MIT to screw with them. ;)
nibnib 10y ago
If the case of the switch was connected to the unused terminal it may have served a purpose by connecting signal and chassis grounds. I prefer the idea that it was magic :)