Idiot Light
Back in the old-timey days, near the beginning of the industrial revolution that is apparently doing us all in, cars didn't have computers yet. In fact, that's been a fairly recent addition in the driving experience. Most of the cars we've driven had lights on the dashboard to tell the driver what was going on with the engine. Too hot? Not all cars had one, but an overheat lamp was standard on many. Low oil? You got a big red light for that one. Low voltage? Yep, another light. Out of gas? That was when the needle pointed to "E" and you got to walk to the gas station and borrow the petrol tank of shame. But that last one was an indicator, not an "idiot light." The term itself comes from frustration with the motor industry for replacing indicators that could tell the driver what was happening as it happened (for example, my car is gradually over-heating) with "fault signals" that just turned on when the car reached th...