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.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {bit-paired keyboard}]