Great moments in unintended consequences—when something that sounds like a great idea goes horribly wrong. Watch the whole series.

Part One: Bleep Creep

The Year: 1996

The Problem: People on the internet swear too much!

The Solution: A content filter that blocks profane words and naughty letter combinations.

Sounds like a great idea, with the best of intentions. What could possibly go wrong?

Turns out, the English language. The filter started nuking innocent words, like the perfectly respectable town of Scunthorpe, England. When resident Doug Blackie tried to sign up for the service, AOL basically told him to [beep] off.

Their fix? AOL forcibly renamed the town "Sconthorpe," coining a new term: The Scunthorp Problem, which continues to this day forking up small towns, ducking over p

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