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EOU: /E·O·U/, n. 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 esp. 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.
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