Museum of Science and Industry

A simulation of a love letter program used in 1952 on the world's first commercial computer - the Ferranti Mark I - is now part of a new interactive game in Revolution Manchester gallery at MOSI.

The game, which is based on an original program written by Christopher Strachey, is made up of romantic words such as 'affection', 'longing', 'passionate' and 'feeling'. These were randomly chosen and slotted into a love letter template when the computer program was run on the Ferranti Mark I. They were always signed 'Yours MUC', which stood for Manchester University Computer. Visitors at MOSI can now create their own love letters on iPads in the gallery and email them to a loved one.

A typical love letter written by the Ferranti Mark 1 in 1952 was:

HONEY DEAR
YOU ARE MY AVID YEARNING. MY WISTFUL LOVE TREASURES YOUR SYMPATHY. YOU ARE MY SEDUCTIVE YEARNING: MY CRAVING INFATUATION: MY IMPATIENT ARDOUR.
YOURS WINNINGLY
M. U. C.

The Ferranti Mark I was developed at the University of Manchester in February 1951, as a commercial version of the Baby computer - the world's first computer - a replica of which is in Revolution Manchester gallery. The first known recording of computer music was also from the Ferranti Mark I, which played a medley including God Save the King, Baa Baa Black Sheep and In the Mood, also programmed by Christopher Strachey. This year MOSI is celebrating Year of Computing to mark 60 years since the Ferranti Mark I, and will host a range of events in school holidays.

Cat Rushmore, science and technology curator at MOSI said: "The love letter is an example of a playful use of this pioneering machine. Time on the computer was expensive, so it was mainly used for heavy duty mathematical calculations, but the love letter program was a fun way to test the machine and demonstrated use of a random number generator developed by Alan Turing."

Revolution Manchester gallery, which was designed by London-based Kin Design, includes the very latest in digital technology and interactive games. It features sections on the history of computing, science, engineering, energy, transport and industry. The gallery is open every day and is free. It is part of a £9million redevelopment at MOSI, which was launched last month.

The MOSI redevelopment project also includes a new coffee shop, gift shop, restaurant, learning and conference centres, as well as the updated interactive science gallery, Experiment. The building has been renamed the Great Western Warehouse in recognition of its role as a former railway warehouse as part of Liverpool Road station, which opened in 1830 for the world's first passenger railway.

For more information on MOSI look up www.mosi.org.uk

Notes to editors

• For more information on museums and galleries in Manchester:

Creativetourist.com is an online magazine, a series of city guides and a collaborative project that has been put together by Manchester Museums Consortium, a group of eight museums and galleries - Cornerhouse, Imperial War Museum North, The Lowry, Manchester Art Gallery, The Manchester Museum, (MOSI) Museum of Science & Industry, People's History Museum, and The Whitworth Art Gallery - in Manchester.  These venues have a dual vision: the desire to stage intelligent, thought-provoking and international exhibitions and events and to celebrate the city in which they live, work and play. Creativetourist.com, with its mix of exclusive features, interviews, arts news and city guides, allows readers to discover more about what's happening in the city, uncover its outstanding cultural programme and collections, and perhaps come to be as passionate about Manchester as its inhabitants.

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