Ceramic Jar with Cork Containing Plastic Y2K Bugs
date: label: date made
content: ca 2000
label: date made
content: ca 1999
label: date made
content: 1999-2000
notes: label: Description
content: This turquoise and gray jar has a cork lid. It contains eighteen colorful plastic bugs.
label: Description
content: Donor Jan Lilja received the jar as a gift from a colleague at the time she was the Y2K Executive at the Food and Nutrition Service, an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Food and Nutrition Service administers the nation's nutrition programs such as food stamps (now called SNAP), WIC, and school lunch and breakfast programs. Because most of these programs are administered through the states, territories and local governments, Lilja was also held personally responsible for preventing computer software problems in nutrition programs at these entities when dates changed from 1999 to 2000. To recognize the hard work done, the U.S. government created Y2K medals. She requested about 100 of these for individuals within FNS and arranged an awards ceremony. When the medals did not arrive in time for the ceremony, she purchased plastic bugs to put in the ceramic jar. Rather than receiving a medal, awardees received a bug and a paper certificate (for such a certificate, see 2016.3118.01). These bugs were far more widely displayed than the medals that eventually arrived (for such a medal, see 2016.0138.02).
label: Description
content: She distributed the bugs as rewards to those working on the project.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Computer Bug
label: Subject
content: Y2K
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Computers
label: See more items in
content: Computers & Business Machines
label: See more items in
content: Y2K
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Jan Lilja
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2016.0138.01
label: accession number
content: 2016.0138
label: catalog number
content: 2016.0138.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: jar with cork and bugs
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: ceramic (jar material)
label: Physical Description
content: cork (lid material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (bugs material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 13 cm x 13 cm x 13 cm; 5 1/8 in x 5 1/8 in x 5 1/8 in