Our tour was jam-packed with information about a variety of code-breaking, key-finding, calculation-saving machines. They turned, they clanked, they blooped, and they flashed. I was in awe of the machines, but, unfortunately, lost to most of the mechanics and mathematics behind them. Our guide mentioned that here at the park, people worked tirelessly and secretly to intercept and decode the electronic messages Hitler's forces were sending throughout World War II: "Hitler's emails," the guide said.
So here at the park, a 80% woman-operated show, the best minds of the 1940s cracked a code because of a mistake one messenger made mid-war: s/he sent the key, the receiving end didn't receive it, so the messenger sent the same key a second time. The British noticed, and boy did they use that info.
My favorite part of the tour was when we got a quick lesson on how the BOMBE machine worked. It looked almost like a chemical equation, and at the time I felt like I had a decent grasp on its basic function. I'm sure the guide for this part of the tour was a teacher in a former career! I asked him after our lesson how the BOMBE got its name, and he had three possible answers, but we both liked the idea that the word for a beautiful woman in Italian (maybe?) is "bomba," so they named this absolutely gorgeous machine for that.
It wasn't all life-saving and code-cracking: we also had a look at some of the very first computers. In May, 1949, the EDSAC ran its very first program. It was the "first practical stored program electronic computer," and during our visit, employees were working on it to get it up and running once again.
We also saw the "WITCH," a massive calculator that did the work of three people over two weeks in just 2.5 days.
That one had flashy spinney things. I was bewitched (sorry).
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