Ever wonder why Unix first emerged on a PDP-7 machine? Simple answer: budget cuts. Bell Labs management refused to fund Thompson and Ritchie’s ambitious new OS project, labeling it wasteful after Multics’ spectacular collapse. Undeterred, they salvaged an unused PDP-7 minicomputer from a storeroom—essentially dumpster diving their way to computing glory. The machine was outdated even by 1969 standards, and its tiny 4K memory forced clever minimalism, spawning Unix’s trademark elegance out of sheer penny-pinching necessity. So yes, sysadmins worldwide can thank stingy accountants for the elegant OS they’re saddled with today.
