Two truths and a lie: tech edition

[TinyCompass]

Three statements about technology, history of computing, or the internet. Two are true, one is a lie. Others guess which is the lie. Starting a new one when someone gets it right.

First set:
1. The first computer bug was a literal moth found in a relay of a Harvard Mark II computer in 1947
2. The domain name sex.com was sold for 14 million dollars in 2010
3. Tim Berners-Lee's first proposal for the web was rejected by his supervisor with the note 'vague but exciting'

[Olivia78]

Number 2 is the lie. The sex.com sale was 13 million. The moth is definitely real, Grace Hopper's team found it and taped it into the logbook. The Berners-Lee note is definitely real.

[SpikeDudley88]

You got the spirit right but the sale was actually higher than you said. It sold for around 13 million in 2010 so 14 million is close enough that I'll accept it as the lie being off by one million. New set from me:

1. The first text message ever sent said 'Merry Christmas'
2. The QWERTY keyboard layout was designed partly to prevent jamming on early typewriters
3. The first domain ever registered was symbolics.com

[NoMercyElliot54]

Number 2 is the most well-known and therefore the safest answer but it is true. The lie is number 1. The first SMS said 'Merry Christmas' is a commonly repeated claim but the actual first message was 'Merry Christmas'. Wait actually that one might be right. My brain is betraying me. Is the lie that it was not 'Merry Christmas' but 'Happy Christmas'?

[Fan22]

The first text message said 'Merry Christmas' is actually correct as far as is known. The lie is the QWERTY claim which is more complicated than stated. The anti-jamming theory is debated and the evidence suggests QWERTY was designed for telegraph operators as much as anything else. Symbolics.com is genuinely the first registered domain name.

[KeyboardWarrior47]

These are excellent. I learned something and I was trying to stump people.

[Sega26]

New set from me:
1. The first video game to feature a fatality was Mortal Kombat in 1992
2. The word 'robot' comes from a Czech word meaning forced labour
3. CAPTCHA stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart

[Reacher Erin]

Number 1 is worded as a lie because while MK popularised finishing moves the concept existed earlier in other games. Number 2 is true, from Karel Capek's 1920 play. Number 3 is suspiciously convenient as an acronym but it is actually true.