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Microsoft Programmers Hid A Bunch Of Profanity In Early Software Code

Microsoft’s engineers certainly had a sense of humour back in the 80s.

Yesterday, Microsoft and the Computer History Museum released early source code from MS-DOS and Microsoft Word, and one developer has already uncovered some amusing hidden messages.

Leon Zandman published screenshots of the source code highlighting various Easter eggs and jokes, which made the rounds on Twitter this week and ended up on The Verge today.

“Coded inline because we’re gods,” reads one line hidden in the source code from an early version of Microsoft Word. There’s also a fair amount of profanity, so fair warning before you scroll down.

Here’s a look at what Microsoft’s early engineers hid in the software’s source code.

MSDOS1Twitter, Leon Zandman
MSDOS2Twitter, Leon Zandman
MSDOS3Twitter, Leon Zandman
MSDOS4Twitter, Leon Zandman
MSDOS5Twitter, Leon Zandman

Both MS-DOS and and Word for Windows are available for download via the Computer Science Museums website. MS-DOS was one of Microsoft’s early operating systems for PCs, and it was the primary software used for IBM’s personal computers during the 1980s and early 90s.

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