139

I'm thinking stackoverflow.com llc / inc should buy a brick in the Computer History Museum Wall.

It's for a noble cause -- the CHM is one of my favorite places on the planet, and the money is a non-profit donation in support of their effort to record the history of the computer.

The brick I am looking at is the Terabyte:

The wall will consist of a series of permanent high-tech plaques engraved with your message. Honor your favorite computer pioneer, recall your first technology project, or annotate any technology memory you wish to commemorate in this special area. Each engraved wall plaque will be placed in the newly remodeled entry area of the Museum, ensuring that your reminiscences will be preserved and shared for years to come.

  • Name: Terabyte
  • Price: $5000
  • Description: 8" x 8" Plaque
  • Max Lines of Text: 6
  • Max Characters per Line: 18
  • Company logo or Stock Symbol available

So, then, the question: what should our CHM plaque say?

Completed, selection made public, and payment confirmed with the Museum: Our Brick in the Computer History Museum Wall. Now we wait for October to see it live!

13
  • 17
    If you can put the APL character set on a brick, I bet you could reimplement SO in APL and it'd fit on that brick.... Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 3:29
  • 2
    Have you verified that both the 108 characters and the logo can be accommodated? Or will someone need to do a graphic that includes the logo and some text (then the character limit may be different - higher or lower - depending on the resolution of the engraving technology)? Is there additional cost for the logo? Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 11:13
  • 20
    I think the museum should donate this brick to you because 17,210 meta users are going to visit the museum just to see this brick. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 18:13
  • 7
    I took me five answers to realize that the first row of numbers were only coordinates, not actual text for the brick. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 23:05
  • 1
    I can think of one company that would be so much happier if their brick could hold seven lines of 20 characters. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 23:29
  • @Dennis - and that would be... ? Commented Apr 19, 2010 at 0:19
  • It might be just me, but it feels kinda like buying your own hand print tile at the walk of fame. Commented Apr 19, 2010 at 6:11
  • 1
    @George: If you do the math, the result might have a familiar ring to it. Commented Apr 19, 2010 at 6:14
  • 5
    I really can't read a question with the words "brick in the (...) wall" without having that same song stuck in my head for the rest of the day. Commented Apr 19, 2010 at 14:15
  • 1
    @Dennis - ah. I get it now. :) Commented Apr 19, 2010 at 17:14
  • The museum doesn't twit Commented Apr 20, 2010 at 18:56
  • 5
    Whatever the answer, I think it should include the 123456789012345678 numbers on it.. even if we lose a column and a row. And it must be monospaced font. Commented Apr 20, 2010 at 22:49
  • Why nobody ever thought of Bricky Tables? '); DROP TABLE bricks;-- (in two lines, obviously). Oh I see, historical incongruence. Commented Jan 25, 2014 at 20:13

99 Answers 99

61
 123456789012345678 1 stackoverflow.com 2 Dedicated to the 3 expert programmers 4 whose tireless 5 work made this 6 brick possible. 

Stack Overflow Plaque at CHM

Prototype: ( Source )

Picture:

Stack Overflow Plaque at CHM

10
  • 2
    Aw. I liked a lot others more(even being serious) :( Commented May 13, 2010 at 6:36
  • 22
    meta is a fine place for in-jokes, but I think when you're putting words on granite (literally or metaphorically) in a public place, it's best to play it straight, simple, and clear. Commented May 13, 2010 at 7:44
  • 18
    This one really stands out. If possible, I'd suggest a slight change so that the dedication is directed to the expert programmers rather than their tireless work : 3 expert programmers, 4 whose tireless, 5 work made this. Commented May 13, 2010 at 12:22
  • 9
    Congratulations, I don't think it could possibly be more vanilla. Commented May 13, 2010 at 13:40
  • 1
    @ben good idea -- done! Commented May 14, 2010 at 9:24
  • 1
    @Mehrdad To be honest, I don't think that's a very flattering picture of the plaque Commented Jan 18, 2011 at 4:28
  • 1
    @Yi Unfortunately, it's difficult to take a photo of a reflective surface, especially when all you have is a crappy iPhone 4 camera. It's better than nothing though. Feel free to replace with a better one! By the way, you have to go upstairs to see "the wall". There's nothing else upstairs. Nobody goes there and for some unknown reasons, I felt the staff were not exactly happy about us going there. In fact, after I came down, they put a barrier ribbon to prevent people from going there. I was a bit uncomfortable about this and just wanted to take a picture ASAP and come back. Commented Jan 18, 2011 at 4:37
  • @mehr this is awesome, thank you! I believe the museum is not fully 'done' with the work, the big opening is Jan 31st Commented Jan 20, 2011 at 22:34
  • @Jeff You're welcome. Thank you for putting it there! I didn't know about the "big opening." Everywhere I saw, they mentioned last week as opening. I would've gone on the 31st if I knew it :( Commented Jan 21, 2011 at 5:35
  • 1
    Now can we have the closed as dupe brick? Commented Mar 7, 2011 at 15:30
180
 123456789012345678 1 stackoverflow.com 2 3 closed as exact 4 duplicate of 5 brick #13379001 6 
17
  • 12
    Precisely. The second brick would redirect to the first, of course. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 3:23
  • 69
    @Julian H. Lam: Nope, the second brick has been moved to meta. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 3:26
  • 1
    First one to make my LOL! Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 7:06
  • 31
    Isn't it sad you think of closing questions when you think of SO? Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 7:26
  • 16
    I think it's great that there is so much knowledge on the SO-family that 50% of questions can be closed as duplicates. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 9:53
  • 12
    @Gnoupi that statement tells me the real issue is question discoverability. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 15:43
  • 3
    To discover, you have bring up the effort to search first, though. Commented Apr 18, 2010 at 1:06
  • 3
    @ongle: Discoverability is sometimes an issue, but at least as often it seems to be users who [don't know how|are unwilling] to search. First time is free, of course, but after that folks should take some responsibility. Commented Apr 18, 2010 at 2:22
  • 1
    Way to hijack an answer's comment thread by discussing totally off-topic usability issues :-P Commented Apr 19, 2010 at 9:26
  • 6
    @Andy I will require (pinky in mouth) 1 Million Dollars before I will return your comment thread. Commented Apr 19, 2010 at 15:58
  • what is 9001? Commented Apr 22, 2010 at 18:50
  • 1
    @eSKAy: IT'S OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAND! Commented Apr 22, 2010 at 20:04
  • @DrJokepu: what is over nine thousand? Commented Apr 24, 2010 at 5:14
  • 1
    @eSKay: The power level, of course Commented Apr 24, 2010 at 16:58
  • 1
    @eSKay: youtube.com/watch?v=SiMHTK15Pik Commented May 1, 2010 at 20:32
121
 123456789012345678 1 stackoverflow.com 2 3 How do I move the 4 turtle in LOGO? 5 6 
6
  • 24
    this is GENIUS! Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 3:00
  • 12
    How do I move the brick in MUSEUM? Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 3:46
  • That is the question. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 4:50
  • 10
    Seems a bit narcissistic to me. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 20:04
  • 19
    @raven - As opposed to buying a $5000 brick to commemorate yourself, which is totally humble. Commented Apr 23, 2010 at 18:35
  • @Length The brick is to commemorate the community, not any particular person. Commented Apr 27, 2010 at 4:45
118
 123456789012345678 1 See: 2 http://meta. 3 stackoverflow 4 .com/ 5 questions/46920 6 for brick history 
9
  • 4
    I just love this one! Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 8:43
  • 8
    I'm not too excited about this one - the link is only valid for so long. Commented Apr 21, 2010 at 4:23
  • Absolutely brilliant. Commented Apr 21, 2010 at 20:56
  • 4
    @George, what is going to happen to the link? Surely Jeff is doing backups... Commented May 3, 2010 at 1:57
  • What if the backups fail? Commented May 3, 2010 at 3:59
  • 7
    @George: What if the museum collapses? What if Atlantis rises from the ocean tomorrow and marauding merpeople reduce us to the stone age again? Gotta draw the line somewhere.... Commented May 4, 2010 at 18:03
  • 1
    @Pop: I'm just saying... what happens 50 years from now when people come to the museum? The joke will mean nothing if the URL is invalid. Who knows if the Internet will even exist? Commented May 4, 2010 at 18:35
  • 9
    @George: I have come from the future to find out what these URLs that you refer to are. We find them in some archeological artifacts that we have dated to approximately this period. Commented May 8, 2010 at 1:17
  • @DennisWilliamson: Good one ;) Commented Mar 7, 2011 at 19:54
109
 123456789012345678 1 stackoverflow.com 2 \ji 3 /.((( 4 (,/"(((__,--. 5 \ ) _( /{ 6 !|| " :|| 
6
  • 2
    +1 "My Little Pony, My Little Pony; What does the future hold?" Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 21:48
  • @waiwia Oh! I was wondering why if the SO logo had gotten a little tipsy or something... Commented Apr 19, 2010 at 0:55
  • They would engrave it in non-monospace font. :) Commented Apr 19, 2010 at 10:04
  • OMG, Unicorn(s)! Oh wait, that's what my name is stuck at over on SO, but not here. Commented Apr 20, 2010 at 14:15
  • This is my favourite, but I don't think the font on the brick will do justice to this masterpiece :-) Commented Oct 15, 2010 at 0:53
  • 1
    It looks like a poodle wearing a unicorn mask. (" = eyes) Commented Aug 17, 2012 at 9:43
102

Kicking things off with my dumb suggestion.

Remember the brick is 6 lines of 18 characters!

 123456789012345678 1 stackoverflow.com 2 our VC asked us to 3 build a business 4 but we spent all 5 their money on 6 this brick instead 
6
  • 7
    If you go this route, why stop with just 1 brick? Commented Apr 16, 2010 at 23:55
  • 29
    @jon that would be funnier -- a whole wall, 1 letter per brick, heh. Commented Apr 16, 2010 at 23:58
  • 6
    Can I buy the one under yours and put "that is one expensive brick!"? Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 0:18
  • 2
    If you write it this way, you can avoid the hyphenated busin-ess: | StackOverflow.com | Our VC asked us to | build a business, | but we spent | all their money on | this brick. | Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 3:03
  • @robert excellent, I reformatted it per your suggestion Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 3:12
  • 4
    7 -- Burma Shave. Commented Mar 7, 2011 at 16:38
78
 123456789012345678 1 to ask questions 2 is human, 3 but 4 to provide 5 expert answers is 6 stackoverflow.com 
11
  • 1
    For some reason reminds me of a slightly less sinister version of the motto from The Prisoner: i41.tinypic.com/b6udzk.png Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 2:07
  • 3
    I resent this one. Stop excluding us 'free rider'-'question-askers'-'only 5 rep per upvote' users! Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 5:34
  • Nice!!!!!!!!!!! Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 7:02
  • 1
    Consider a version of this except with "to provide expert answers." Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 17:59
  • @ripper I took robert's advice and amended free to expert Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 20:49
  • 4
    I think it would be better without the "but". Like: "To ask questions/is human./To provide/expert answers is/stackoverflow.com". (And one line to spare.) Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 21:33
  • @Arjan, but that completely screws up the cool way the text currently looks :) Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 22:48
  • @Earlz, given the official examples I wouldn't rely on the looks... (And I'm not natively English, but the but actually seems wrong to me. Maybe and is better?) Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 23:23
  • Is that an evil EE reference? Commented Apr 18, 2010 at 3:29
  • @Jeff - you misunderstood me. I was, half jokingly, protesting against exclusion of great question askers. Asking great questions should not be excluded (although yes, the purpose is the answers ... but without great questions there can't be great answers ... or at least "answers to great questions". This comment will now self-terminate). Commented Apr 18, 2010 at 14:58
  • 2
    a bit marketing-y Commented Apr 22, 2010 at 10:24
71
 123456789012345678 1 stackoverflow.com: 2 The only place 3 where you can get 4 100 answers 5 for what to write 6 on this brick. 
7
  • make that 38 now... Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 4:51
  • Just to make it that much more geeky, it should be 42. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 13:44
  • 10
    I think it should be the actual final # of answers. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 13:51
  • 3
    That'd be a good meta brick. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 15:09
  • 29
    Are there dynamic bricks? Commented Apr 19, 2010 at 9:46
  • 1
    The only way to get an accurate count would be to lock the question before engraving ;-) Commented Oct 15, 2010 at 0:55
  • @RobertCartaino 99 answers so far! Commented Jun 2, 2018 at 4:13
68
 123456789012345678 1 stackoverflow.com 2 None of us 3 Is as Dumb 4 As all of Us 5 -Jeff Atwood & 6 Joel Spolsky 

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/09/stack-overflow-none-of-us-is-as-dumb-as-all-of-us.html

2
  • 43
    hmm, initially misread that as "none of us is as dumb as Jeff Atwood & Joel Spolsky" Commented Apr 22, 2010 at 9:49
  • 1
    That's already the subtitle for the 'Meetings' demotivational poster. Still funny though. I think of this everytime I'm in a meeting at work... or really anywhere for that matter. Commented Apr 24, 2010 at 18:45
56

Poetized version of Atwood's earlier answer.

Answered questions quick
VCs made wallets thick
Won some cash to kick some ass
But spent it on this brick.

 123456789012345678 1 Answered questions 2 quick, VCs made 3 wallets thick, Won 4 some cash to kick 5 some ass but spent 6 it on this brick

alt text
(source: sampsonresume.com)

4
  • 3
    Yo! The Beastie Boys are in the house! Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 1:31
  • 7
    it has no meter. rhythm fail. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 9:00
  • 9
    Sounds like it rhymes pretty well to me - perhaps it's the char-per-line restriction that is making it difficult to read? Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 13:14
  • "rhythm" != "rhyme". but yeah, splitting the lines differently helps. Commented Apr 20, 2010 at 3:19
45
 123456789012345678 1 Programming Q&A? 2 StackOverflow.com 3 has both. 4 -- Answered 2009 5 community briki 6 Jeff Atwood 
3
  • 8
    I confess. I only posted this to get the community briki joke in. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 3:42
  • 20
    well, I LOL'ed so mission accomplished. COMMUNITY BRIKI! Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 3:49
  • 7
    I confess. I only upvoted this because the community briki joke was in. Commented May 4, 2010 at 18:05
41
 123456789012345678 1 stackoverflow.com 2 Asking 14-million 3 expert programmers 4 what to write 5 on this brick. 6 [status-completed] 

Of course, we'll need the actual # of users.

7
  • @Robert the tag is [status-completed] (which fits in 18 characters) not [status-complete] Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 16:30
  • fixed (and here's the filler to meet minimum comment size requirements). Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 17:13
  • 3
    Imho the best one ever Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 17:37
  • 2
    Where does the figure of 14-million come from? (The most recent SO user id is 319,402.) Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 20:35
  • @Arjan - Made it up. Need to know the number of unique visitors to the site; way more than 319K. Commented Apr 18, 2010 at 2:56
  • 3
    I think I should clarify why this brick is the best. It contains a reference that SO is a great and influential Q&A site. It also contains a generic joke, in addition to an inside joke; this is what many bricks here lack. Commented Apr 18, 2010 at 9:16
  • I really like it. We can get it, but anyone can enjoy it. Commented Apr 19, 2010 at 9:42
38
 123456789012345678 1 stackoverflow.com 2 3 [closed]brick 4 5 not programming 6 related 
30
 123456789012345678 1 stackoverflow() { 2 ask_questions; 3 get_answers; 4 rep++; 5 return profit; 6 } 
10
  • 6
    Bill adds ()s to all of those... Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 2:45
  • line 5 should read "return profit;" Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 6:29
  • @doekman: Thanks for the bug report. [status-completed]. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 13:36
  • 3
    -1 for using a language that requires semi-colons. Commented Apr 18, 2010 at 1:16
  • postincrement => not good Commented Apr 20, 2010 at 11:08
  • I think return stackoverflow() actually. Then there it will be a stack overflow (unless you've got tail recursion). Commented Apr 22, 2010 at 12:50
  • Line 5 should not be reachable. Commented Apr 22, 2010 at 15:55
  • 1
    @Paul: Why not? I profit from the answers I receive, even if only intellectually. Besides "profit" is a meme. Commented Apr 22, 2010 at 18:24
  • 4
    profit is undefined Commented May 9, 2010 at 22:08
  • Why not return stackoverflow()? Commented Aug 17, 2012 at 9:45
30

It really should be something in code . . . and this seems like the most obvious choice:

 123456789012345678 1 /* See: 2 StackOverflow.com 3 */ 4 public int Foo() { 5 return Foo(); 6 } 

Because of course the logical place that someone would come to figure out what that means, or how to fix it is to visit StackOverflow.com.

6
  • 2
    That's seven lines. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 2:54
  • 2
    @Dennis, could just take the { up a line and reduce it to 6. This is actually a common(though not in C#) coding style Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 3:45
  • Just use // for the comments and you can ditch the */ line. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 6:24
  • 2
    Hope the edits are ok. Return type changed to int so I could fit a { and a space. Most importantly, it now fits the spec Commented Apr 18, 2010 at 1:05
  • Thanks. That works. I changed the comments and didn't realize I added a line. Commented Apr 20, 2010 at 4:28
  • 1
    How can we be certain this won't get TCO'd to just loop forever? Commented Feb 25, 2012 at 20:13
24
 123456789012345678 1 StackOverflow.com 2 Dedicated to the 3 tireless effort of 4 expert programmers 5 making this brick 6 [status-complete] 
3
  • 5
    I like this because it's true to the "dedication" nature of the brick, plus contains a bit of the SO purpose and an inside-meme, to boot. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 18:03
  • 1
    By all my powers I have just made up, I hereby pronounce you the best brickmaker ever. Commented Apr 21, 2010 at 19:10
  • 1
    This is nice - punny, on-message, in-jokey, and awesome. Commented Apr 22, 2010 at 0:09
24
 123456789012345678 1 ___|_____|_____|__ 2 |_____|_____|_____ 3 ___|_____|_____|__ 4 |_____|_____|_____ 5 ___|_____|_____|__ 6 |_____|_____|_____ 

It's just another brick in the wall.

3
  • 1
    Nice, but you know some do better. ;-) Commented Apr 20, 2010 at 19:28
  • 2
    @Arjan: tell Jeff to get us kbd back, and I'll try. Commented Apr 20, 2010 at 19:58
  • You didn't seem to need kbd to restore that image after Jeff took kbd away! Commented Apr 20, 2010 at 20:38
22

I prefer a more nuanced message:

 123456789012345678 1 Add 2 parts Q & A, 2 1 part Wiki, 3 1 part forum. 4 Bake for 6-8 weeks 5 Makes 3-4 servings 6 stackoverflow.com 
6
  • 5
    -1 forgot to mention waffles Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 4:51
  • @George: Clearly I'm not spending enough time on meta (for the uninitiated: meta.stackexchange.com/questions/19392/…). Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 5:01
  • @mike what about s/1 part forum/1 part Waffles ? Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 22:45
  • @Earlz: My other answer has waffles and got no love. I blame John Cusack :( Commented Apr 18, 2010 at 2:28
  • WHERE'S THE PONY? Commented Apr 19, 2010 at 9:54
  • where do I see 6-8 weeks joke? Commented Apr 28, 2010 at 15:26
22
First brick here? Check out the FAQ!
1
  • sigh.... brick. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 7:51
21
 123456789012345678 1 stackoverflow\.com 2.you shouldn't par\ 3.se [X]HTML with re 4.gular expressions. 5.have you tried HT\ 6.ML Parser instead? 
1
  • 4
    haha, I always hate it when people rain on my cthulu parade! Commented Apr 19, 2010 at 15:30
20
 123456789012345678 1 \ | 2 __ \ | 3 --_ \ | 4 | ______ | 5 |________| 6 stackoverflow.com 
4
  • beat you by 25 seconds :-P Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 0:12
  • I think it's unlikely the brick will use a monospace font, though, which means alignment would be problematic Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 0:48
  • 9
    and the bricks have logos anyway Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 3:48
  • 4
    Any one have any pictures of actual bricks? Commented Apr 18, 2010 at 19:51
17
 if you're looking for gender reass- ignment, you've come to the wrong place stackoverflow.com 
1
  • 29
    +1 But I'm sure the history books will have long forgotten the hyphen-site, making this one confusing brick :) Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 0:49
17
 123456789012345678 1 2 3 (λx.x x) (λx.x x) 4 stackoverflow.com 5 6 
2
  • 2
    omega, my mega. Commented Apr 18, 2010 at 3:25
  • SO - lambda style :) Commented Apr 23, 2010 at 18:08
17


 123456789012345678 1 stackoverflow.com 2 3 eventually 4 we'd like to 5 be an 6 exhibit 
15

How about:

 123456789012345678 1 2 Alconja 3 3,772 4 ●1 ●3 ●16 5 6 stackoverflow.com 

Ok, maybe I'm not well known enough... so perhaps:

 123456789012345678 1 2 Jon Skeet 3 168,276 4 ●31 ●593 ●1153 5 6 stackoverflow.com 

Or:

 123456789012345678 1 2 Jeff Atwood ♦ 3 58,226 4 ●9 ●110 ●190 5 6 stackoverflow.com 
3
  • I would use some |s and -s and such to put a "border" around it. Maybe that would look weird. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 3:51
  • @MatrixFrog: Yeah I was going to, except Jeff mentioned that it probably wouldn't be a fixed width font, which would make it come out weird. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 9:01
  • 51
    Let Jon buy his own brick! Commented Apr 18, 2010 at 12:05
15
 123456789012345678 1 The only community 2 on the internet 3 where users enjoy 4 when avatars are 5 hacked and turned 6 into unicorns. 
1
  • 2
    Without the hyphen the word community just fits fine on that first line, right? Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 12:17
14
 123456789012345678 1 stackoverflow.com 2 3 Fixing the 4 internet 5 one question 6 at a time 
13

The solution is obvious. You need to buy many bricks, and set them up with graphics of the game breakout.

13

Not to rain in your parade, but this is the kind of neighbours you'd have?

3
  • 22
    I'm really hoping these "examples" aren't representative. We're in the high-rent neighborhood.. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 2:59
  • 1
    @Jeff: that reminds me... who is paying for this? :) Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 4:51
  • 6
    If someone pays $5k for one of these I'll send them my address so they can send to balance of their excess to me. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 13:15
11
010100110111010001 100001011000110110 101101001111011101 100110010101110010 011001100110110001 10111101110111 
3
  • 4
    I'd prefer it in mixed case or all lower case instead of all caps. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 0:39
  • Just for you, Dennis... Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 0:42
  • 18
    -1, a lot of bricks will be like that, methinks. Commented Apr 17, 2010 at 17:59

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