Interesting Facts About the Internet
The Internet is one of the most important inventions that has
changed the way the world functions. With every passing day, the internet is becoming
important and deeply rooted in our existence. It helps exchange information, do
business, run government and whatnot. Here are some facts about the Internet
History
1. Although the internet was formally
established in January 1983, its origins trace back to the 1960s with the
development of the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), a
system designed to facilitate information sharing among government researchers.
2. The internet was first designed to
ensure continuous communication for the United States Department of Defense
during a potential nuclear strike in the Cold War. The project became even more
pressing after the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite.
3. The development of the internet was
the result of collaborative efforts by engineers, researchers, scientists, and
programmers. Notably, Vinton Cerf and Robert Elliot Kahn made significant
contributions and are therefore commonly recognized as the "fathers of
the internet."
4. In
1965, Lawrence Roberts successfully
connected two computers, facilitating their first communication. To achieve
this connection, Roberts utilized a telephone line and an acoustic modem to
transmit message packets carrying digital data.
5.
While Nikola Tesla theorized the concept of a "world wireless
system" enabling communication without physical lines in the early 1900s, Sir Tim Bernes-Lee invented the World Wide
Web in 1989, making information accessible and shareable wirelessly.
6.
According to the HuffPost, Mr. Bernes-Lee uploaded
the inaugural photograph to the internet via the World Wide Web after its
creation. The image depicted four women who collaborated with him at the CERN
nuclear research laboratory.
7.
Ray Tomlinson, an American computer scientist, developed email in 1974.
Although he sent the first email to himself, the contents of that inaugural
message remain unknown. At that time, email was limited to plain text due to
the absence of formatting features.
8. In
1978, four years after the introduction of email, Gary Thuerk, a computer sales
executive, distributed the first unsolicited commercial email via ARPANET,
according to Buzzfeed News. His objective was to promote his company's
computers through this early form of digital marketing.
9.
YouTube was founded on Valentine’s Day in 2005 by Steve Chen, Jawed Karim, and
Chad Hurley. All three founders were former employees of PayPal, an American
e-commerce company specializing in online financial transactions.
10. On
23 April 2005, Jawed Karim, one of YouTube's co-founders, uploaded the
platform's inaugural video. Entitled "Me at the Zoo," it depicted
Jawed visiting the San Diego Zoo.
11.
Twitter was established in March 2006 in San Francisco, California, by
Biz Stone, Evan Williams, Jack Dorsey, and Noah Glass. At launch, Jack Dorsey
posted the first-ever tweet: "Just
setting up my twttr."
12.
According to the Statista Research Department, Twitter recorded over 187
million users worldwide as of the fourth quarter of 2020, with the United
States hosting the largest user base.
Usage Statistics
13. According
to Statista, there are currently over 4.6 billion internet users worldwide,
with 92.6% accessing the internet via mobile devices.
14. Major
social media platforms include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat,
and TikTok. Facebook remains the most widely used platform, boasting at least
2.6 billion active monthly users as reported by Statista.
15. From
2000 to 2020, global internet usage saw an increase of 1,266%, with the Middle
East among the regions experiencing the fastest growth.
16. There
are more than 1.7 billion websites on the internet today; however, this figure
is subject to change as new sites are launched and others are removed.
17. Although
the total number of websites is substantial, only approximately 200 million are
currently active. Notably, at least 1.5 billion websites are inactive.
18. Google.com
is recognized as the world’s most popular website, attracting at least 92.5
billion visits each month.
19. On
average, Google.com processes approximately 63,000 search queries per second,
totaling over 5.5 billion searches daily and 2 trillion annually, according to
HubSpot.
20. A
search query is typically answered in 0.2 seconds, involving around one
thousand computers, as reported by Internet Live Statistics. The actual
retrieval time may vary based on internet connection speed.
21. At
least 6,000 tweets are sent globally every second, amounting to roughly 500
million tweets per day.
22. As
of 2021, an impressive 99% of internet users in the United States aged
between 18 and 29 were active online. Among those aged 65 and above, 75% also
utilized the internet, as stated by Statista.
23. Google
launched its services in 1998 and subsequently expanded into areas such as
social networking, email communication, cloud storage, and video sharing.
24.
Google Chrome is presently the leading web browser, with a market share of
64.92%. Other notable browsers include Safari, Firefox, Samsung
Internet, UC Browser, Opera, and Internet Explorer, which hold respective
market shares of 15.97%, 4.33%, 3.29%, 2.94%, 2.34%, and 1.98%.
25. WordPress,
although it is the most frequently targeted content management system (CMS),
remains among the most widely used hosting platforms. Specifically, WordPress
accounts for a 59.7% market share, supporting more than 22 million active users
globally. It hosts several high-profile websites, such as Forbes, Facebook
Blog, and The New York Times (NYT).
26. In
2021, over 10 billion devices were connected to the internet, including
computers, mobile phones, tablets, wireless routers, car GPS units, and
servers. Experts anticipate this figure will continue to rise in the coming
years as Internet of Things (IoT)
technology becomes increasingly prevalent.
Interesting Facts
27.
Marcel Fernandes Filho, a Brazilian teenager, set the Guinness World Record as the world's fastest texter by typing a
25-word message in just 18.19 seconds, according to USA Today. The message was:
“The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the
most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality, they seldom attack a
human.”
28.
Due to high demand for long-distance information exchange and internet-based
technology, the internet reached 50 million users within five years of its
launch. Its rate of adoption remains strong as technology continues to attract
more users.
29.
The online dating industry earns at
least $1 billion in annual revenue. Many people in the United States now
pay monthly subscription fees on dating platforms to seek relationships.
30. PC
Magazine defines internet surfing as
searching for information online by clicking hyperlinks to move between
websites. The term was coined by Jean Armor Polly, a New York librarian who
was among the first to offer public computer and internet access. She's also
known as the "Net Mom."
31.
Founded in 2009 by Sina Corporation, Sina Weibo is a Chinese social media platform considered one of Asia's most popular
websites. For context, Sina Weibo has over 430 million active monthly
users, according to the New York Times.
32.
Every Facebook user has a unique number linked to their profile for
identification. This ID doesn't reveal any personal details but helps
differentiate each account. For example, Mark
Zuckerberg, Facebook's CEO, has the Facebook ID 4.
33.
Nearly half of the world's internet users live in Asia, but India has the largest population without
internet access. Around 685 million people in India don't use the
internet, followed by China, where 582 million remain offline.
34. On
average, a typical United States household spends approximately $1,141 annually
on cable and internet services. This amount increased notably during the
COVID-19 pandemic due to the rise in remote work among Americans.
35. During
the pandemic, most Americans utilized the internet for activities such as
browsing social media, gaming, video conferencing, and streaming television.
This led to a significant increase in consumption rates, prompting internet
providers to impose usage limits, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
36. The
internet stores data exceeding 1,200 petabytes, which is roughly equivalent to
1.2 million terabytes. However, this estimate is based solely on the four
largest websites: Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon.
37. The
double slash (//) in internet URLs is unnecessary. According to Berners-Lee,
inventor of the World Wide Web, he regrets including the double slash in URL
formatting.
38. Taiwan
and Yemen represent the countries with the highest and lowest average internet
speeds, respectively. Specifically, Taiwan’s average speed is 85.02 Mbps, while
Yemen’s is only 0.38 Mbps.
39. Internet
outages have substantial economic and operational impacts. They not only cause
considerable revenue loss for businesses but also inconvenience students,
researchers, scientists, and other professionals who depend on reliable
internet access. A 24-hour outage could suspend three billion Google searches
and halt the delivery of 196 billion emails.
Testing
internet speed. Interesting Facts About The Internet. Image credit – Wil C.
Fry
40. The
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) boasts an average internet
speed of 91 gigabytes per second, which is approximately 17,800 times faster
than that available to the average American consumer.
41. The
webcam was originally invented to allow continuous monitoring of a coffee pot.
Students at Cambridge University in England created the device so they
could check the status of their office coffee pot from their desktop computers.
42. Facebook
was initially developed to facilitate communication among Harvard University
students using .edu email addresses and photographs. Mark Zuckerberg
subsequently introduced this platform to the broader internet, resulting in
what became known as Facebook—originally “The Facebook.”
43. Estonia
was the first nation to conduct general elections online. Citizens'
identification cards contain chips with public-private key pairs, enabling
holders to electronically sign documents and vote via the internet.
Internet Crime
44. While the internet has transformed the world to
become better, it is also the reason for the rise of cybercrimes. For instance,
according to the Small Business Trends (SBT), at least 40% of cyberattacks
target small businesses in the US and beyond. Cybercrime is, so far, the
second most reported economic crime in the US.
45. On average, cybercriminals launch about 4,000
ransomware attacks every day and demand at least $1,000 worth of ransom per
attack.
46. Yahoo suffered a major data breach in 2013 that
led to the exposure of birth dates, security questions, and phone numbers of at
least 3 billion of its users.
47. Cybercriminals usually aim for weak passwords to
breach networks and devices. It is for this reason that the Maryville
University recommends creating strong passwords and updating them regularly to
increase network security.
48. WordPress is among the most hacked Content
Management Systems (CMS) on the internet. It accounts for approximately
90% of the hacks done on content management systems, as reported by the Digital
Information World (DIW).
49. Phishing is a cybercrime term that refers to the
use of big-brand fake emails to lure victims into clicking on malicious links,
opening spam emails, and login into fake websites. Cybercriminals use phishing
to obtain people’s sensitive information such as social security numbers,
passwords, and credit card numbers.
50. A study at the University of Maryland revealed
that every 39 seconds, hackers attempt to attack computers and other
digital devices that are connected to the internet. One in every 3
Americans falls victim to these attacks whenever the hackers succeed in
breaching their network systems.
