People named "Null" are being punished by computers in the weirdest ways

The big picture: Having the last name "Null" is apparently the modern equivalent of being cursed. Just ask the Nulls who endure a never-ending loop of website errors, processing failures, and customer service reps telling them their accounts don't actually exist. And it's all thanks to a computer scientist who decided that, when it comes to programming, the word should be reserved for signifying an invalid or non-existent value. One of the victims is Nontra Null, a 41-year-old clothing designer from Burbank. She was initially excited to take up her husband's name since it was a lot easier to pronounce. What she didn't realize was the pain it would cause her. Nontra Null told the Wall Street Journal that in 2014, she nearly missed attending a friend's wedding in India because the consulate's systems kept getting tripped up trying to process her newly acquired surname when issuing her visa. She made it just before her flight after an agonizing delay. These days, Nontra has learned som ... Read full article.