Python is named after a comedy show, not a snake

When Guido van Rossum started creating Python during his Christmas holidays in 1989, he was reading the scripts of Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British comedy show from the 1970s. He wanted a name that was short, unique and a little mysterious, so: Python. 🐍 came later, for the logos.

The first version was shared with the world in 1991. Today Python is one of the most used programming languages on the planet: by YouTube, Instagram, NASA, scientists, and game makers.

Python also hides a little poem about how to write good code, called The Zen of Python. Run this to read it:

import this

And one more Easter egg. Try to guess what it does before running it:

import antigravity

(That one opens a comic in a web browser, so it might not work inside this page. Now you know it exists!)