Vacuum Tube Computing

February 4, 2026  •  EPISODE 296

Join Roger Billings, a technology thought leader and innovator, as he draws from his diverse range of life experiences, inspiring students of all ages to love science and to understand the value of education in empowering their life missions.

This highly motivational and informative lecture series, hosted by the International Academy of Science, is part of the Roger Billings Mentoring Scholarship. 

About DrB

Dr. Roger Billings is a visionary innovator whose work has touched the lives of millions of students and transformed the landscape of education. Widely known as “DrB” to the countless kids who benefit from his groundbreaking Acellus learning system, Dr. Billings has dedicated his life to advancing education through technology. As part of DrB’s lifelong commitment to supporting education, Science LIVE was launched as a way to “give back” by mentoring students in conjunction with the Roger Billings Scholarship Program.


Read more about DrB » 
About the Roger Billings Scholarship Program »

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3,552 Comments

  1. Madeline

    I love these videos! You guys always manage to interest me every time with new topics.

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  2. Pawel

    Hi from Ecuador!

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  3. Athena

    Hello from Florida. I love the science lives. Even my parents enjoy it.

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  4. Gavin

    hello from mobile alabama

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  5. Chase

    Its wild to me that vaccum tubes were the first electronic device

    Reply
  6. Camryn

    how do the wires get electricity in between the two?

    Reply
  7. Izzabella

    hello from ND. -20 below here.

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  8. Luis

    I love the science lives!! So interesting!

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  9. Brie

    Hi from CA!❤️

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  10. Roslyn

    Hi from Idaho!

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  11. Payton

    i love science lives !

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  12. Ethan

    Hi from Tennessee it was very interesting to learn more about the moon landing

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  13. Emily

    Hello from Maryland! I’m happy to be watching another great episode.

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  14. Braden

    It’s interesting how vacuum tubes led to computers. Who would have thought?

    Reply
  15. Emilianna

    hello from texassss <3

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  16. Christopher

    Space is so interesting! I love learning about each planet!

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  17. The

    There are a lot of mysterious things out of space. I want to explore them.

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  18. Arianna

    These science lives are so helpful.

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  19. Jayden

    I never knew how much work is required for a trip to the moon and how one problem can throw off the whole project.

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  20. Benyt

    I like the moon

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  21. Eric

    how do they intercept the sound waves?

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  22. Elijah

    I am watching from tn

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  23. Charles

    how far away can we send signals in space?

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  24. Mattison

    Hello from MO. I am excited for Science Live!

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  25. James

    does the weather change radio waves?

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  26. Kevin

    Why do the positions of an electron change again, upon being seen by humans?”

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  27. Lillian

    i love science live so much <3

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  28. Harper

    Hi from Albuquerque how did they think of the flash light

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  29. Mason

    Hi from Indiana!

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  30. Teague

    His tie is so shiny.

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  31. Eugenio

    I didn’t know that a vacuum tube sends out electrons

    Reply
  32. Agostino

    I want to see DR.TOBIES ELON MUSK MADE TESLA cars and truks show us a photo.

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  33. Isla

    Do space data centers work more efficiently without gravity?

    Reply
  34. Mason

    hi from texas!

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  35. Jason

    Hi from Massachusetts!!

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  36. Cheyanne

    It seems as though her bosses should have listened to her in the beginning, but at least they fixed the problem before the official moon landing mission.

    Reply
  37. Emma

    my bithday is on the 19 of february

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  38. Moriyah

    Hi from Houston Texas hi Dr. Roger Billing’s um my Birthday is six days away i’m so excited 😆 i’m turning nine and i’m in fourth grade

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  39. Owen

    Loving the live ❤️

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  40. Millie

    Hello from MN❤️

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  41. Braxton

    hi i love science live so much

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  42. Donovan

    hi from nc i enjoy the lives

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  43. Khloe

    khloe from houston teaxas how did they know how exactly to read all of those radio waves and gather legit information?

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  44. Greyson

    Tobias needs a longer segment

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  45. Mary

    I’m so excited for this science live this week, these are so interesting.

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  46. Jayden

    Watching from Maine

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  47. Jeremiah

    Hello from MO,

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  48. James

    mom says she would like to see a class all about strange things in nature.

    please and thank you

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  49. Abigail

    Amazing Science Live this week. It’s crazy how there’s so many scientific things there are to talk about.

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  50. Natasha

    What does the grid look like?

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  51. Simon

    I can’t remember what type of material is in the coherer?

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  52. Mae

    Hello From Haiti

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  53. Joel

    I came from Wisconsin and now I am in Texas, the weather is drastically different.

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  54. Gabriella

    Space is so cool!

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  55. Tressa

    Hi from Wyoming

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  56. Hunter

    Hello from Maine

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  57. Philip

    I enjoyed learning about space and the rocket. It is insane how precise they had to be to get to the moon!

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  58. Lorelai

    How they landed on the moon was cool.

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  59. Joson

    hi from Utah I like the science lives

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  60. Casey

    Radio waves are fascinating

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  61. Greyson

    I love Tobias’s segments

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  62. Russell

    Hello from Tennessee!

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  63. Tobias

    how do they measure the lenght of the rocket to land?

    Reply
  64. Jaslyn

    Hi from Wisconsin!

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  65. Arianna

    hi from texas.

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  66. Esperanza

    How many times did they have to simulate the process for the project to the moon before they really got it correct?

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  67. Ashleigh

    I LOVE SCIENCE LIVE SO MUCH!

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  68. Avory

    DrB the goat

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  69. Fatima

    Hi from Illinois .

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  70. Charley

    Hello from Butte Montana!

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  71. Sean

    how big would you need a computer to run 10MB back then?

    Reply
  72. Rachel

    Hi from MA. I found the story about the moon very interesting. Those are the kinds of stories that you do always get to hear.

    Reply
  73. Lillian

    Hello from Texas! This is my first week and I really like this way of learning.

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  74. Emily

    Hello from Huntsville Alabama. Emily just started ASL class and loves it. It’s the first class she wants to do.

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  75. Greyson

    Missouri is beautiful

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  76. Corbin

    Hi I think a pipe organ class would be awesome

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  77. Mila

    I’m having fun!
    but are we going too see r51 this week?

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  78. Ahmed

    can science have a solution to all my problems?

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  79. Hayley

    I love the science lives!

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    • Michael

      Science live is great!

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    • Layla

      I’m going to Texas I live in Florida i love Science live i love R51 they are so funny 😎😹✨

      Reply
  80. Kaylyn

    How did they find out how to send out radio waves?

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    • Tarie

      So Awesome!

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  81. Uriah

    Your rocking that suit mr roger

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    • River

      Hello from Texas!

      Reply
  82. Everett

    Hi great live so far space is cool

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  83. Raiya

    Hello from West Virginia! I can’t wait to see what R51 will cook up this time! 😅🤖😜

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    • Makenzi

      ABSOLUTLY! I’m an West Virginian as well, and love R51!

      Reply
  84. Liam

    hi from Ky

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  85. Zaydee

    Hello from Texas!

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  86. Nicholas

    Hi from Nebraska

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  87. Carolynn

    science live is interesting

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  88. Phillip

    Hi from Missouri!

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  89. Bambam-bambi

    Question for mr billings.
    what inspired you to start this whole thing?

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  90. Ava

    Hi from Texas

    Reply
  91. Eliana

    Hi from S.C It’s so cold

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  92. Gabriel

    Hi from Tennessee

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  93. Sophia

    Happy Wednesday u are have way through the week u got this 👍😁

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  94. Anastasia

    Hello! 😀 from Kentucky!

    Reply
  95. Emilio

    What is a vaccum wave?

    Reply
  96. Maya

    hi from Texas happy to be hear love i love space

    Reply
  97. Olive

    How many mathematicians work on space data centers?

    Reply
  98. Vincent

    Hello from New York

    Reply
  99. Oliver

    wow, I never knew that about radio waves!

    Reply
  100. Noralee

    Getting to the moon sounds very hard I’d hate to go to the moon!

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  101. Thalia

    hiii from texas

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  102. Avery

    Hi from Georgia! Wow, I had no idea that much work went into the moon landing!

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  103. Spencer

    hi from Montana

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  104. Sam

    I’m curious what happened with the quest for deep hole hydrogen

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  105. Emerie

    Hi from Arizona!

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  106. Shelley

    Hi from IL

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  107. Piper

    How do astronauts breathe in a spaceship. Do they have a bunch of oxygen tanks?

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  108. Aiden

    Hello from Florida.

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  109. Sidney

    Hello from NC!

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  110. Romina

    My family travels a lot and I remember watching science live at 7:00 am while I was in South Korea!

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  111. Jerry

    I love science live

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  112. Janelle

    I think, space is cool, u could see all the planets and suns

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  113. Jonah

    Amazing tie!!

    Reply
  114. Mary

    Hello from Indiana .*

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  115. Zayden

    Hello from nabraska love the live so far

    Reply
  116. Aiden

    vacuum tubes are interesting

    Reply
  117. Jennifer

    Hi from Colombia!

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  118. Joslynn

    hiiii im joslynn from texes

    Reply
  119. Keith

    Hello from Tennessee

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  120. Eamon

    hi from Gainsville GA

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  121. Stephan-obama

    hey from haiti

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  122. Makynzi

    Could it be possible to have a water-based cooling system in outer space? Would it freeze due to extremely low temperatures?

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  123. Linnea

    Hi from Texas

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  124. Amelie

    Hi from TEXAS!

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  125. Alaina

    Science Live is the best!

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  126. Arielle

    Astronauts going to the moon is awesome. I wish I could be an astronaut because astronauts are brave.

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  127. Evangeline

    I was once in Japan. Me and my puppy, Maple, are watching from Leland!

    Reply
  128. Isabella

    I think its really cool having people from all over the world

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  129. Natalie

    hi from Texas!

    Reply
  130. Naylan

    Do you know how I can start making progress towards being an automotive engineer as a 12 year old boy?

    Reply
  131. Flynn

    When will the Coherer Kit be available?

    Reply
  132. Jordynn

    Hello from MO!

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  133. Leobardo

    Hi from Texas great Lesson!!!

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  134. Isaac

    this is the best home school ever!

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  135. Leonardo

    Also from Nevada here

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  136. Marilyn

    the computer in space is cool.

    Reply
  137. Miguel

    Hi from Maryland!

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  138. Eli

    Going to the moon is very hard because you have to make sure the rocket won’t break down or power down because it won’t move to the spot they need to go.

    Reply
  139. Victor

    Hello from Mississippi!!!!

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  140. Paige

    we love you

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  141. William

    Glad they listened to the programmers. They could of had some bad issues with the Apollo mission.

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  142. Oscar

    Hello from New York State.

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  143. Anh

    Hi, I from Vietnam 🇻🇳

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  144. Abigail

    Abby here hello from Okinawa Japan

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  145. Anthony

    it’s cold here in Florida!

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  146. Emmalyn

    Hi from Texas!

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  147. Maddilynn

    Hello from Maryland!

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  148. Cooper

    Checking in from MJ TN!!

    Take it easy on Elon. One of the greatest minds of our time. 🙂

    Reply
  149. Cooper

    i really liked learning about the ways they got to the moon safely!

    Reply
  150. Will

    Hello from China.

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  151. Layan

    Hello from Saudi Arabia

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  152. Annie

    Greetings from Guam!

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  153. Natalie

    hi from IDHIO

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  154. Kamryn

    I loved the space story!.

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  155. Addison

    I really enjoyed hearing about the moon landing.

    Reply
  156. Steven

    How large is the largest memory system

    Reply
  157. Anayah

    Hello from Waterburyyy!

    Reply
  158. Zan

    how fo you feel about ai and the RAM shortage

    Reply
  159. Veronica

    hi from Missouri

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  160. Aailyah

    hi from texas

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  161. Myah

    You guys are so cool

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  162. Jeshua

    Hello from Arkansas.

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  163. Leslie

    Howdy from tennessee

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  164. Thomas

    I’m excited to see Roger billings again

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  165. Ryan

    Hi from Texas

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  166. Patrick

    Hello from Texas

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  167. Remme

    From North Carolina

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  168. Milla

    hi from tipton IA

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  169. Verana

    Hello from Tennessee!

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  170. Ava

    Hi from Louisiana

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  171. Noah

    When was the last time” Houston we have a problem” quote actually said?

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  172. Justin

    Hello from Kentucky

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  173. Kennija

    Hi from Mississippi!

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  174. Aubrie

    And that’s why you don’t ignore woman!!!!!

    Reply
  175. Sofia

    What would happen if the computer was mid-run of a less important task and encountered a higher priority one? Would the less important one be immediately halted, or would it proceed at a slower pace with less power?

    Reply

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