VDict mobile



character, humour The mnemonic of a mythical ASCII control
character (End Of User) that would make an ASR-33 Teletype
explode on receipt. This construction parodies the numerous
obscure delimiter and control characters left in ASCII from
the days when it was associated more with wire-service
teletypes than computers (e.g. FS, GS, RS, US, EM,
SUB, ETX, and especially EOT). It is worth remembering
that ASR-33s were big, noisy mechanical beasts with a lot of
clattering parts; the notion that one might explode was
nowhere near as ridiculous as it might seem to someone sitting
in front of a tube or flatscreen today.
(1996-06-29)