Source: history.com

The machines are now installed all over the world in countless cities & towns, making it super convenient for all of us who carry around debit or credit cards. A simple swipe and you can withdraw money anywhere, anytime.

But if someone was to find or steal your card, the only barrier protecting your money is your 4-digit ATM PIN.

Source: asiabizz

Ever wondered why most PINs have only 4 digits? Wouldn’t it be wiser if the PIN was longer so that no one else could guess it? Isn’t that why our email passwords are also expected to be 6 letters or more?

Well, Scottish inventor John Adrian Shepherd-Barron, the man who pioneered the development of the ATM machine, had also proposed a 6-digit PIN.

Before you read further, here’s some trivia about the man: Barron was born in Shillong and was son to a Wimbledon ladies doubles champion, Dorothy Barron.

Source: theguardian

So, the idea of the 6-digit PIN had to be rejected because of Scot’s wife Caroline. Funnily enough, the longest string of numbers that she could remember was four.

Reportedly, 6 numbers stringed together were too much information for her to recall.

Source: techlicious I Feature image source: gizmodo

Although, there are few banks that do offer 6 digit PINs for security purposes, shouldn’t those of us using 4 digit PINs be thanking the woman? It gets tough to recall those 4 digits at times, imagine what 6 or more would do to us?