If you’ve been using computers for more than a decade, then there’s little doubt that you’ll be familiar, with this phrase:

Control, Alt, Delete.

Indeed, the computer keyboard command has become so ingrained into our society, that it’s spawned plenty of pop culture references, as well as being inducted into the meme half of fame.

But while you’re almost certainly very familiar with the command and its adoption into our culture, if you’re anything like me, you don’t know much about its genesis.

The truth is that, at least according to Bill Gates, the invention of the command was a complete mistake that was never meant to happen.

And it was all IBM’s fault.

There’s a great piece by Virgina Hughes on Mental Floss about how control, alt, delete was invented, so if you’ve got two minutes, it’s well worth a read!

Click HERE to read it now.

Have you ever accidentally come up with something that’s ended up being pivotal in your design?

I’d be interested to know, so please let me know.