Always wondered about the origin of “foo” as it appears in nearly every programming example. Came across the answer this way:
Branden Hall’s Waxpraxis > The Flashcoders List Archives > a discussion on the Flashcoders Wiki > The Jargon Lexicon
The etymology is pretty amazing, ranging from the 1930s comic strip “Smokey Stover” to UFOs to Chinese temple lions, Army acronyms, Robert Crumb, Seattle rock bands and the Tech Model Railroad Club at MIT.
Maybe it’s common knowledge, but it’s new to me…