History of The Term
The plumbing industry started using the smoke test in 1875.
Later this usage seems to have been forgotten, leading some to believe the term originated in the electronics industry: "The phrase smoke test comes from hardware testing. You plug in a new board and turn on the power. If you see smoke coming from the board, turn off the power. You don't have to do any more testing."
Read more about this topic: Smoke Testing
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