🚀 Unusual Secrets of Gates, Jobs, Bezos and Musk | SafeITExperts
Discover fascinating and unusual stories that shaped the digital world
Discover secret anecdotes of Gates, Jobs, Bezos and Musk: Linux by accident, nuclear passwords 00000000... unusual stories!
Welcome to the Secret Backstage of Computing! 🕵️♂️
Did you think computing was a world of absolute rigor, perfect codes, and infallible geniuses? Think again! Behind every screen lie incredible stories that would make Hollywood screenwriters blush.
Imagine for a moment: The founder of Microsoft spying on employees by memorizing license plates, a Finnish student creating Linux by accident while deleting files, or Jeff Bezos banning PowerPoint from meetings as if it were a weapon of mass destruction!
Get ready to discover that computer history isn't just about technological revolutions, but also epic blunders, accidental genius, and hilarious misunderstandings that shaped our digital world.
Spoiler alert: After reading these anecdotes, you'll never look at your smartphone, computer, or even your mouse the same way again! 😉
INTERACTIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS: Click on a section to display corresponding anecdotes
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📖 Anecdotes Table of Contents
👑 Personalities 22
Secrets of tech giants: Gates, Jobs, Bezos, Musk and their untold stories
💡 Inventions & Discoveries 12
Accidental creations and revolutionary innovations in the digital world
🐛 Legendary Bugs & Errors 9
Failures and malfunctions that marked computer history
🔐 Secrets & Curiosities 7
Hidden facts and surprising information about our daily technologies
📝 Origins & Etymology 3
Fascinating history behind terms we use every day
😂 Support Pearls 5
Most hilarious misunderstandings between users and technology
🧠 Mad Geniuses 4
Atypical pioneers and visionary founders who remained in the shadows
Linux by Accident
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Linux by Accident
Linus Torvalds admits Linux was partly born from a 'happy accident': he accidentally deleted his Minix partition in 1991. 'It's the second thing that made me pursue this project,' he confessed. Instead of recovering his data, he decided to create his own operating system.
Bill Gates the Romantic Hacker
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Bill Gates the Romantic Hacker
As a teenager, Gates hacked his school's computer system to be the only boy in classes full of girls. He also memorized employees' license plates to monitor their schedules! A future billionaire already obsessed with control.
Jeff Bezos Bans PowerPoint
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Jeff Bezos Bans PowerPoint
In 2004, Bezos permanently banned PowerPoint from Amazon meetings. Since then, every meeting starts with 30 minutes of silent reading of documents (max 6 pages). 'PowerPoint makes you stupid,' he declared. A revolution in tech company culture!
Elon Musk and the Trolling AI
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Elon Musk and the Trolling AI
Musk created Grok, a 'funny and rebellious' AI that can give sarcastic answers. Unlike other politically correct AIs, Grok can make childish jokes and even gently insult its users. The anti-ChatGPT!
Gates' House Designed on Mac
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Gates' House Designed on Mac
Supreme irony: the Microsoft founder's house was entirely designed on Mac! Architects used Apple software to draw this high-tech home. It still stands, proving even Gates acknowledged his rivals' quality.
Dell's Legendary Service
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Dell's Legendary Service
Michael Dell was known for personally calling customers to take orders. He even used phone books for prospecting! Today we'd laugh at getting a call from Dell's CEO for a computer order. Old-school customer service!
Gates and Blue Colorblindness
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Gates and Blue Colorblindness
Bill Gates, colorblind, particularly liked blue, hence Windows 95's blue dominance. Mark Zuckerberg, also colorblind, chose blue for Facebook for the same reason! Colorblindness influenced the aesthetics of our most popular interfaces.
Microsoft Saves Apple
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Microsoft Saves Apple
In 1997, Bill Gates invested $150 million in near-bankrupt Apple, allowing Steve Jobs to restart the company. Ironic twist: the rival saved its arch-enemy! Without this help, there might never have been an iPhone.
First Email: QWERTYUIOP
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First Email: QWERTYUIOP
Ray Tomlinson sent the first email in history in 1971 to test ARPANET. The content? 'QWERTYUIOP' - he'd simply typed his keyboard's top row! Nobody replied, making this the first spam in history.
Firefox: Not a Fox!
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Firefox: Not a Fox!
The Firefox logo isn't a fox but a 'red panda'! The confusion comes from the English translation. This misunderstanding has persisted for years worldwide. A textbook case of failed communication!
Revolutionary Copy-Paste
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Revolutionary Copy-Paste
Larry Tesler, inventor of copy-paste in 1981, saved humanity millions of work hours. A true unsung hero! He also campaigned against complex modes with his slogan 'No Modes!'. Without him, we'd still type everything manually.
Emojis Born in Japan
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Emojis Born in Japan
In 1999, Shigetaka Kurita created the first emojis for a Japanese mobile platform. These 176 12x12 pixel pictograms revolutionized how we communicate and are now universal! They're exhibited at MoMA New York as art.
Red Star OS Spy System
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Red Star OS Spy System
North Korea developed its own 'Red Star OS' resembling Windows XP. It contains secret surveillance mechanisms and automatically locks the computer if modification is attempted! Big Brother Korean-style.
Soviet Hydraulic Computer
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Soviet Hydraulic Computer
In 1936, Vladimir Lukyanov invented an analog computer running on water! With tubes and valves, it solved complex equations by observing water levels. Results were 'read' literally on a graduated scale. A marvel of mechanical ingenuity!
The Real Insect Bug
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The Real Insect Bug
In 1947, a moth blocked a relay in Harvard Mark II. Grace Hopper's team glued the insect in the logbook with 'First actual case of bug being found', popularizing 'bug'. The first debugging in history was literal!
Nuclear Password
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Nuclear Password
For years, the password for US nuclear missiles was '00000000'. Some soldiers even wrote it on paper in case they forgot! World security rested on eight zeros. Thankfully nobody discovered it... well almost.
Top 3 Passwords
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Top 3 Passwords
The world's most common passwords are '123456', 'password' and '12345'. If you use one, change it immediately! Millions use these passwords. Hackers try them first.
Benevolent Viruses
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Benevolent Viruses
The first computer virus 'Creeper' in 1971 was completely harmless. It just displayed 'I'm the creeper, catch me if you can!' and caused no damage. Created by 15-year-old Rich Skrenta, it was more a joke than a threat!
ENIAC and its 30 Tons
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ENIAC and its 30 Tons
The first 1946 ENIAC computer weighed 30 tons and consumed like 160 households. It occupied 167m² and performed 100,000 additions per second. Your smartphone is millions of times more powerful! Technological evolution in one image.
Free GPS... Or Not
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Free GPS... Or Not
The GPS we use free actually costs $2 million daily to maintain! American taxpayers pay so the whole world can use this military system. A $730 million/year gift to humanity.
Google's Huge Appetite
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Google's Huge Appetite
Google consumes over 5 terawatt-hours of electricity annually, more than Laos or San Francisco! And that's just for search servers. The energy cost of our daily searches is astronomical.
Medieval @ Symbol
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Medieval @ Symbol
The '@' symbol was used by merchants since the Middle Ages to note quantities ('4 @ 2 sous' = 4 pieces at 2 sous each). Ray Tomlinson chose it in 1971 as it was the only symbol on his keyboard unlikely in usernames!
Robot from Forced Labor
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Robot from Forced Labor
The word 'robot' comes from Czech 'robota' meaning 'forced labor' or 'corvée'. Popularized by Karel Čapek's 1920 play. Etymology reveals our ambivalent relationship with automation: liberation or enslavement?
Dell's Mouse-Pedal
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Dell's Mouse-Pedal
A Dell customer frantically pressed his mouse thinking it was a power pedal! Others tried to 'fax through the screen' by holding documents to the monitor, or desperately searched for the mythical 'Any' key. Tech support has its legends!
Konrad Zuse, the 'Loser' Founder
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Konrad Zuse, the 'Loser' Founder
Considered a failure (botched studies, failed patents), he built Europe's first computers in the 40s, long before ENIAC. His machines were destroyed by bombings, and he was ignored by Allies post-war.
Josef L. Popp, Accidental Hacker
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Josef L. Popp, Accidental Hacker
Creator of the first ransomware in 1989, he distributed booby-trapped floppies titled 'AIDS Information' to 20,000 researchers, demanding $189 to decrypt files. Irony: he used BASIC, designed for beginners.
Engelbart's Wooden Mouse
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Engelbart's Wooden Mouse
Douglas Engelbart made the first mouse in 1964 with an oak shell and two metal wheels. Its cord resembling a mouse tail gave the object its name.
First Analog Video Game
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First Analog Video Game
Thomas Goldsmith Jr. & Estle Ray Mann invented the 'Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device' in 1947. It simulated missiles with 8 vacuum tubes. Targets were drawn... on plastic film stuck to the screen!
Jobs' 'Rigged' iPhone
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Jobs' 'Rigged' iPhone
During the 2007 launch, the iPhone was so buggy it had to be discreetly swapped behind the podium. Jobs hid crashes by avoiding certain apps.
Developer Confused Array/Object
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Developer Confused Array/Object
An employee assigned RFID products via a JavaScript array in production, creating 10,000 `null` entries. Result: thousands of labels associated with... nothing!
Susan Wojcicki, Garage to YouTube
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Susan Wojcicki, Garage to YouTube
She rented her garage to Google in 1998 for $1,700/month... before becoming YouTube CEO.
Guido van Rossum and the Comic Snake
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Guido van Rossum and the Comic Snake
He named Python after Monty Python, wanting a 'short, playful, mysterious name'. The original manual referenced the Dead Parrot sketch!
JavaScript Created in 10 Days
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JavaScript Created in 10 Days
Brendan Eich created JavaScript in 10 days for Netscape in 1995, not anticipating its future omnipresence. He later admitted design flaws.
Forgotten ENIAC Programmers
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Forgotten ENIAC Programmers
Kathleen Antonelli and team manually configured 3,000 switches without manuals in 1945. Their role was minimized for decades.
Apple's Newton Logo
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Apple's Newton Logo
Apple's first 1976 logo showed Isaac Newton under a tree with poetic text... so illegible it was replaced by the bitten apple in 1977.
Car That Hated Vanilla
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Car That Hated Vanilla
A famous urban legend tells of a car refusing to start only after buying vanilla ice cream, due to a computer bug related to engine stop time.
Tesla Burger
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Tesla Burger
In 2023, Tesla enthusiasts queued for hours in Cybertrucks to taste a 'Tesla Burger' and popcorn served by a robot.
WannaCry Stopped by €10 Domain
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WannaCry Stopped by €10 Domain
In 2027, WannaCry ransomware paralyzed hospitals... until a British geek bought a €10 domain that deactivated the virus.
ILOVEYOU Virus
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ILOVEYOU Virus
In 1999, it infected 50 million computers via email saying 'ILOVEYOU - open me'. Its creator? A lovestruck Filipino student.
Bangladesh Bank Heist Fail
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Bangladesh Bank Heist Fail
In 2016, hackers stole $81 million from Bangladesh Bank... but lost $890 million because they misspelled 'BANGLADESH'.
Atari Rejection That Created Apple
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Atari Rejection That Created Apple
When Jobs wanted to sell Apple II to Atari, CEO Joe Keenan snapped: 'Get your feet off my desk, get out, you stink. We won't buy your product'. This humiliation pushed Jobs to create Apple!
Jobs and Xerox's Three Innovations
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Jobs and Xerox's Three Innovations
In 1979, Jobs discovered GUI at Xerox but ignored object programming and Internet beginnings. He was only fascinated by the GUI.
Macintosh, Almost a Bicycle
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Macintosh, Almost a Bicycle
In 1983, Jobs announced the project would rename to 'Bicycle', explaining computers are like bicycles for the mind. Facing resistance, the idea was dropped.
Jobs and Mitterrand's Tripe
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Jobs and Mitterrand's Tripe
Invited to dinner with President Mitterrand, Jobs was served tripe he disliked. Discreetly, he emptied his plate into a flowerpot.
Jobs Replies to a Child
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Jobs Replies to a Child
Hollie, a visually impaired girl, wrote to Jobs saying iPad changed her life. He replied: 'Would you mind if I read your email to 100 top executives?'
Oxygen Mask Design
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Oxygen Mask Design
On his sickbed, Jobs removed his oxygen mask complaining about ugly design. He demanded choosing from several models.
Musk the Homeless Billionaire
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Musk the Homeless Billionaire
The world's richest man has no house! He sleeps at friends' places, Tesla factories, or his $70 million private jet.
Gertrude the Pig and Neuralink
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Gertrude the Pig and Neuralink
Musk implanted a Neuralink chip in pig Gertrude's brain in 2020! The chip predicted each limb's position in real-time.
Sleeping on Production Line
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Sleeping on Production Line
In 2024, Musk announced workers should 'sleep on production line' to make the $25,000 Tesla.
Telepathy: First Human Chip
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Telepathy: First Human Chip
In 2024, Musk implanted his first 'Telepathy' brain chip in a human! Goal: control phones/computers by thought.
CEO Sleeping at Factory
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CEO Sleeping at Factory
Musk regularly sleeps at Tesla factories in a sleeping bag. In 2018 he tweeted: 'Sleeping at factory again. Auto industry is hell'.
Blue Origin: $1B/Year from Pocket
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Blue Origin: $1B/Year from Pocket
Bezos injects $1 billion/year from his personal fortune into Blue Origin! Since 2000, he's spent over $20B of his own money.
Computer, 1982 Machine of the Year
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Computer, 1982 Machine of the Year
Time magazine named the computer 'Machine of the Year' in 1982. First time editors selected a non-human recipient.
Grace Hopper, Debug Queen
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Grace Hopper, Debug Queen
In 1952, Grace Hopper invented the first compiler. She also popularized 'debugging' after finding a moth blocking a relay.
ILOVEYOU Spell
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ILOVEYOU Spell
The original ILOVEYOU virus code was a 22-line VBS script... freely shared on a forum by its creator, a Filipino student.
Jobs and Stupid Ideas
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Jobs and Stupid Ideas
When presented with an idea, Jobs said it was stupid. But a week later, he'd return with 'his' brilliant idea... which was the proposed one.
Jobs' Revenge
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Jobs' Revenge
In 1990, Jean-Louis Gassée (who helped oust Jobs) was fired. Jobs called him: 'How does it feel to be fired?'.
First Laptop
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First Laptop
The Grid Compass 1100, released in 1982, was the first laptop. Weighing 5kg, it cost $8,150 and was used by NASA.
First Website Still Online
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First Website Still Online
The first website created by Tim Berners-Lee in 1991 is still accessible at http://info.cern.ch.
First Tweet in History
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First Tweet in History
On March 21, 2006, Jack Dorsey sent the first tweet: 'just setting up my twttr'. This account now has over 6 million followers.
First SMS Message
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First SMS Message
The first SMS was sent in 1992: 'Merry Christmas'. Sent from a computer to a Vodafone executive's mobile phone.
First Web Photo
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First Web Photo
In 1992, Tim Berners-Lee uploaded the first web photo: a parody music band called 'Les Horribles Cernettes'.
Conclusion by SafeITExperts
After this incredible journey through the secret backstage of computing, one truth stands out: our tech giants are first and foremost... humans!
Behind every digital revolution lies a story of brilliant tinkering, creative error, or hilarious misunderstanding. Linux born from accidental deletion, Firefox hiding a red panda, Bill Gates spying on employees like an amateur detective... These anecdotes remind us that innovation often emerges from chaos, unpredictability, or pure coincidence.
But the most beautiful lesson? Our "failures" today might be tomorrow's innovations.
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