ENIAC: press conference that shook the world

On February 14th 1946, ENIAC, hailed as the first truly large-scale electronic computer, was announced to the public. In this article, I reflect upon the impact of that announcement on the public perception of computers. ENIAC was certainly not the only large-scale computer in operation at the time, but it represents a unique marker in the public consciousness, due to the dramatic way in which it was unveiled at a Saturday press conference at the Moore School of Engineering in Philadelphia. I analyze some of the typical headlines about ENIAC that appeared in 1946, and examine claims that these headlines were a major factor in the public perception of computers for decades to come.