It might just be the most important salute in America, but you see it more in office buildings than in the military. Think computers- and specifically- when they decide to go haywire and then grind to a halt. You know, like whenever someone in Congress brings up term limits. Ah yes! It's the good old three-finger salute! And while it doesn't work on Congress, it does work on PCs and Macs as Control-Alt-Delete (or Command-Option-Escape). They're life-saving combos when your favorite piece of software decides to revolt. The critical keystrokes date back to 1980, when a team of brainiacs were building the first IBM personal computer. They finished the job in 1981, but it may have taken much longer if not for engineer David Bradley's snazzy idea. Sporting an even-snazzier 1981 wardrobe and hairstyle, Bradley was tasked with writing code for the PC's startup phase (a fancy term for when the power turns on). But he and fellow programmers wasted a ton of time because their computers kept freezing, and the only answer was to pull the plug and start over. (What was that about Congress?) Well, it made for a nice bathroom break, but eventually became excruciatingly annoying. In a flush of frustr— uh, FLASH of frustration, Dave smacked that keyboard into submission. At first, he chose Control-Alt-Escape, but he feared users might accidentally hit them with one hand and lose all their work. The “Delete” key is way over on the other side. The now infamous reboot keystroke was born, which avoids the most lengthy restart process. Soon other IBMers found out about it, and the secret salute eventually became part of every PC and Mac. Bradley once joked, I may have invented Control-Alt-Delete, but i think Bill Gates made it famous. :) Dave certainly knew how to press buttons.

Illuminating Moments in American History
From the accidental invention of the microwave to the love story of rubber gloves, these 68 animated video shorts (shadow puppet style!) chronicle the history of unexpected American innovation.

Produced, written, and directed by Nathan Marsh. Art and Animation by Joel West and Isaac Windham. Sound by Scott Sprague. Narration by Carol Munse.