ENIAC

Hello there. My name is ENIAC, and I was one of the very first computers in the whole world. I wasn’t small like the computers you see today. I was a giant. I filled an entire room with my metal panels, thousands of blinking vacuum tubes, and miles of wires. When I was turned on in 1945, I made a humming sound and my lights would flicker and flash. It was like a whole city of little lights lived inside me. I wasn’t built just to look flashy, though. I had a very important job. The United States Army needed to solve very, very hard math problems to help soldiers during World War II, and it took a long time for people to do them. They needed a super-fast brain to help, and that brain was me. I was born to be a number crunching superstar.

Two very smart men named John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert had the big idea for me back in 1943 at a place called the University of Pennsylvania. They designed my giant body, but I needed someone to teach me how to think. My very first teachers were a team of six brilliant women. They were my programmers. They didn't type on a keyboard like you do today. Instead, they taught me by plugging and unplugging thick black cables and flipping hundreds of switches. It was like they were solving a huge puzzle to give me my instructions. I waited excitedly for my big day to show everyone what I could do. On February 15th, 1946, I was finally revealed to the world. A person would take days to solve a certain math problem, but I said, “I can do that.”. And zip, zap, zoom, I solved it in just 30 seconds. Everyone was amazed at my speed.

For the next ten years, I worked hard. I didn't just help the army. I helped scientists learn about the weather and other important things. I was always busy, humming and blinking away, solving one problem after another. But as time went on, newer, smaller computers were invented. My last day of work was October 2nd, 1955. They turned my power off, and my blinking lights went dark for the last time. It might sound sad, but it was just the beginning. I am like the grandfather of all the computers you use today. The tiny, powerful computer in your phone, tablet, or laptop is part of my family. My big, room-sized brain showed everyone what was possible and started the journey to the amazing technology you have today. A big idea can start out giant and noisy, but it can change the world in small, wonderful ways.