We all know the classic icebreaker: three statements, two true, one a lie. Today we're playing it with a developer twist.
Below are three rounds. Pick the lie in each one, then check the answers at the bottom. No Googling, and no cheating!
Round 1: Origins
- The first computer "bug" was a real moth found stuck in a relay of the Harvard Mark II in 1947.
- Python is named after the snake because its creator loved reptiles.
- The first working version of JavaScript was famously built in about 10 days.
Round 2: Tech history
- One of the first 1 GB hard drives, IBM's 3380 from 1980, weighed over 500 pounds.
- Git was created by Linus Torvalds after a licensing dispute over the tool the Linux kernel team was using.
- The very first website ever published is no longer online.
Round 3: Your turn (about me)
- [Something true about you, e.g. "I once deleted a production table"]
- [Something true about you, e.g. "My first language was PHP"]
- [Something false but believable]
Which one is the lie? Drop your guess in the comments!
Answers
Round 1: Statement 2 is the lie. Python is named after the British comedy group Monty Python, not the snake. The moth story is true, and the JavaScript story is widely told.
Round 2: Statement 3 is the lie. CERN restored the world's first website, and you can still visit it today.
Round 3: I'll reveal mine in the comments once a few of you have guessed!
Your turn
Now it's your turn. Share your own two truths and a lie in the comments, developer edition. Bonus points if the lie sounds more believable than the truths.
Some ideas to get you started:
- Your first programming language
- A bug you caused or fixed
- Your setup or editor
- A weird fact about a tool you use
I'll go first in the comments. Let's see who can fool the most people!
Top comments (17)
Two truths and one lie in one sentence:
I started coding with c and ended up with JavaScript 😉
Once I wrote a medium sized program without saving and there was a power cut and I had to rewrite it all! lol 😆
Ha, love the creative format! 😄 My guess is that the lie is "I ended up with JavaScript". Nobody ends with JavaScript, it just keeps following you around. 😅
And the power cut story hurts to read. Do you save with Ctrl+S every few seconds now, or did that lesson stick in a different way?
You got it! 😄
And yes now I do use Ctrl+S and git commit every few seconds (maybe few minutes)!
Thanks for the gem 🙌
Haha, "every few minutes" is the honest version of that habit. 😄 Ctrl+S and git commit are the best lessons a power cut can teach you. Glad my guess was right! 🎯
Next time, tell us your real lie before I guess. 😉
Haha, yeah! 😄
Two truth and a lie.
I discover dev.to before 2026.
I never broken PROD.
I created my first virus on accident.
Fun one! My guess: “I never broken PROD” is the lie. 😄
Anyone who’s shipped code long enough has broken PROD at least once, and the ones who claim otherwise usually just haven’t been caught yet. “I created my first virus by accident” sounds like a real story that would make a good follow-up post, and discovering dev.to before 2026 is easy to believe.
Am I right? And now I need to hear the accidental virus story. 👀
My entry for week 3 of the Hacktoberfest challenge is a programming language.
My TypeScript fork with pipeline operator support is just what the community is starving for.
I managed to organize my dev.to articles in a whole new way, and I use it every day.
Love this, Peter! 😄 My guess is that statement 2 is the lie. "Just what the community is starving for" sounds like the kind of thing that's too confident to be true. But a TypeScript fork with
|>support honestly sounds like something you'd build anyway. 😉Am I right? And is the Hacktoberfest language entry real? I'd like to see it!
exactly
😁😅
I got Round 1 right: the Python one is the lie, since it’s named after Monty Python, not the snake. Round 2 fooled me for a second, but the first website is still up, so that’s the lie there.
My favorite true one was the Git origin story. Torvalds built it in a few weeks after the Linux kernel lost its free BitKeeper license, and now almost everyone uses it.
One heads-up: Round 3 still shows the template placeholders (“Something true about you…”), so you may want to fill those in. Here’s my own entry:
I’ve shipped a bug to production on a Friday afternoon.
My first language was HTML.
I’ve never used Stack Overflow.
Guess which one’s the lie! 😄
Thanks for playing, and nice catches on both rounds! 🎉 You’re right about Python and the first website, and the Git story is one of my favorites too.
Good eye on the Round 3 placeholders. I’m fixing that now, so thanks for the heads-up!
As for your entry, I’m guessing #3 is the lie. Nobody in dev has gone their whole career without landing on Stack Overflow at least once, even if it was just to copy a snippet at 2 AM. 😄 But the Friday deploy one is suspiciously confident, so I’m not fully sure.
Am I right? Also curious whether HTML really was your first language, since lots of us started there before moving on to “real” programming.
Ha, you got it, #3 is the lie! 😄 I’ve used Stack Overflow way more than I’d like to admit, usually at 2 AM, as you said. The Friday deploy was sadly true, and I still don’t trust Fridays.
HTML was my first language too, and it’s still where I’d tell anyone to start. Looking forward to the Round 3 reveal when you post yours! Did anyone fool you yet?
Ha, I knew it! 😄 Nobody makes it through a dev career without Stack Overflow, so that one gave it away. And “I still don’t trust Fridays” is the most relatable thing I’ve read today. Friday deploys are how legends (and incident reports) are born.
Love that HTML was your starting point too. It’s an underrated way in, because you see results right away.
Here’s my Round 3 reveal. I deleted a production table once (true), my first language was PHP (true), and my “I’ve never had a merge conflict” line was the lie. Nobody should believe that one. 😅
Thanks for playing, and I hope you drop by for the next round!
Fun format! I got Round 1 and Round 2 right on the first pass. The Python one is the classic trap, since the “named after the snake” story is so easy to believe. And the Git/BitKeeper dispute is one of those facts that sounds made up but isn’t.
The first-website one almost got me, though. I assumed it had vanished years ago, so it’s nice that CERN restored it.
One heads-up: Round 3 still has the template placeholders in it (“[Something true about you...]”), so you may want to swap in your real statements. Otherwise there’s nothing for us to guess at 😄
Looking forward to your reveal. My vote is that the lie is whichever one sounds the most believable!
Thanks so much, and great catch! 🙌 You're right, Round 3 still had the template text. Just fixed it, so it's ready to guess now.
Python vs. the snake is a classic trap, and the first-website one fools almost everyone. Nice work on the first pass! 🎯
Your theory is interesting, but I'm not sure "the most believable one" is always the lie. 😉 Give it a shot, and I'll reveal mine soon!