Slopfest #62 · 1988 · Vienna
It Was Meant to Count Us
A program built to measure the internet copied itself until the internet slowed down. So did our clicker.
Museum status: Insured for more than the building it is kept in.
- Venue
- Donauinsel, finally finished
- Attendance
- 6,240
- Also spotted
- Kylie Minogue on the cover of a Bravo someone left in the cloakroom, circled in pink
- Fun fact
- 6,240 guests, 2,100,000 counted
What happened
A committee member built an electronic clicker to count attendees, and it began counting itself. By 9 p.m. the tally stood at 2.1 million. The committee announced a record, then an apology, then a record again. The real number was worked out by hand the following week, and the committee still has not accepted it.
Elsewhere in 1988
The Morris worm, written to gauge the size of the internet, spreads out of control and slows thousands of computers.
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