Episode
Episode 167 - The Tape That Unwound Itself
- Podcast
- Advent of Computing
- Published
- Oct 12, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 1645
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
Have you ever had a computer do something you can't explain? Have you ever thought a machine had a mind of its own? In 1971 Met Life was faced with this exact conundrum. Their tape drives, for some reason, were throwing tape all over the floor every night. Systems were checked and no flaws were found, but every morning an operator would walk in on an absolute mess. What could make a healthy machine spit up it's precious tape?