Another myth. We had a tube fail about every two days and we could locate the problem within 15 minutes. We invented a scheme to build the computer on removable chassis -- plug-in components -- so when tubes failed we could swap them out in seconds. We carried out a very radical idea in a very conservative fashion.

How many people were working on ENIAC?

Total count was about 50 people, 12 of us engineers or technical people. Mauchley was teaching part-time, others had part-time jobs. I was on it full-time as Chief Engineer.

How old were you?

We signed the contract on my 24th birthday: May 9, 1943.