I had the great privilege of attending a lecture by Grace Hopper, and I still have one of her "nanoseconds" – eleven-inch pieces of wire. [i] This is the length of time that an electrical signal travels in one nanosecond. (When a Rear Admiral says, "show me a nanosecond," you will find a way to do it.)

Also – Adm. Hopper herself never personally claimed credit, let alone "motherhood," for the COBOL language. She always reminded people that it was a team effort. But the press liked to call her "Mother COBOL," and she accepted it. Whether the actual details made good newspaper copy or not, she made sure that they were always known.