{"ok":true,"trend":{"id":441500,"platform":"hn","region":"global","key":"ballmer peak","title":"Ballmer Peak","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballmer_Peak","first_seen":"2026-09-30T04:35:39.712808Z","last_seen":"2026-09-30T08:05:39.652758Z","last_rank":24,"peak_rank":23,"last_volume":56,"peak_volume":56,"seen_count":15,"score":0.8534375,"category_hint":null,"section":null,"category":null,"summary":"The 'Ballmer Peak' is a humorous idea, attributed to xkcd, claiming a narrow band of blood-alcohol concentration improves programming ability, named after former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The concept resurfaced in discussion, with people debating whether a small amount of alcohol genuinely sharpens focus or whether it is purely programmer folklore that has endured as an internet in-joke.","why":"The long-running programmer joke about a drink-fuelled sweet spot for coding has resurfaced in discussion.","tone":"neutral","entities":["Steve Ballmer","Microsoft","xkcd"],"summarized_at":"2026-09-30T10:38:36.560887Z","meta":{"lang":"en","link":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballmer_Peak","hn_id":"49903712","comments":14},"nw":null,"promo":null,"kind":null,"importance":null,"hidden":false,"hide_reason":null,"judged_at":null,"title_en":"The Ballmer Peak: coding lore and alcohol","timeline":[{"captured_at":"2026-09-30T04:35:39.712808Z","rank":27,"volume":12},{"captured_at":"2026-09-30T04:50:39.646412Z","rank":27,"volume":16},{"captured_at":"2026-09-30T05:05:39.608561Z","rank":27,"volume":19},{"captured_at":"2026-09-30T05:20:39.624952Z","rank":25,"volume":22},{"captured_at":"2026-09-30T05:35:39.663434Z","rank":24,"volume":26},{"captured_at":"2026-09-30T05:50:39.762768Z","rank":26,"volume":30},{"captured_at":"2026-09-30T06:05:39.665677Z","rank":26,"volume":34},{"captured_at":"2026-09-30T06:20:39.752673Z","rank":25,"volume":35},{"captured_at":"2026-09-30T06:35:39.599915Z","rank":25,"volume":37},{"captured_at":"2026-09-30T06:50:39.729649Z","rank":26,"volume":39},{"captured_at":"2026-09-30T07:05:39.659450Z","rank":25,"volume":41},{"captured_at":"2026-09-30T07:20:39.671110Z","rank":23,"volume":47},{"captured_at":"2026-09-30T07:35:39.652873Z","rank":24,"volume":50},{"captured_at":"2026-09-30T07:50:39.667233Z","rank":24,"volume":54},{"captured_at":"2026-09-30T08:05:39.652758Z","rank":24,"volume":56}],"posts":[{"platform":"hn","url":"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49903712","author":"thunderbong","title":"Ballmer Peak","snippet":null,"posted_at":"2026-09-30T02:35:58Z","likes":56}],"elsewhere":[],"window":"7d"}}