ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Manchester Baby

The Manchester Baby was a very special machine that was made a long, long time ago, back in the 1940s. It was actually one of the very first computers that was ever made!

Now, computers are really cool machines that can help us do all sorts of things like play games, talk to our friends, and get our homework done faster. But back then, computers were a lot bigger and slower than they are now. But that didn't stop the clever people who made the Manchester Baby from creating something that would be really important for the future!

The Manchester Baby was made up of lots of different parts, like a television and a bunch of electronic switches. These switches were really special because they could turn on and off really quickly, and that's what made the Manchester Baby work like a computer.

So, when people wanted to make the Manchester Baby do something, like play a game or solve a math problem, they would use their brains to come up with a plan and then put that plan into the machine by changing the electronic switches. The switches would then talk to each other and work together to get the job done!

It might seem like a small thing now, but the Manchester Baby was a really big deal back then. It showed us what was possible with computers and helped us figure out all sorts of cool things we could do in the future. So, even though it was made a long time ago, we still remember the Manchester Baby as a really important part of history!