The first general-purpose electronic computer weighed 27 tonnes.

1945

ENIAC was 30 metres long and drew 150 kW; by the end of its career it had 18,000 vacuum tubes and about 5 million hand-soldered joints.

◍ Show on the globe

The event

• ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic computer1945 · Philadelphia. In late 1945 ENIAC came to life at the University of Pennsylvania — a 27-ton electronic computer with some 18,000 vacuum tubes. It calculated thousands of times faster than electromechanical machines and opened the computer age.

20th century

More amazing facts

• 1943 · 1945 The Slinky was invented when a spring fell off a shelf.
• 1943 During World War II the Oscars were made of plaster.
• 1944 The US Army had a unit of artists armed with inflatable tanks.
• 1945 · 1947 Mike the chicken lived for 18 months without a head.
• 1945 · 1952 The inventor of the theremin also made one of the first bugs.
• 1946 The bikini is named after an atoll used for atomic bomb tests.

All amazing facts (1058) →