- Life in the future: Tech that will change the way we live 29 weird and wonderful life-changing technologies from around the world
This is the computer that was used to create the web
The computer seen here was used by Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee as the world’s first web server and the machine that coded the first ever web browser.
In a jiffy is more than just an expression
A “jiffy” is the length of one cycle of the computer’s system clock (roughly 10 milliseconds). Which is where the origin of the phrase comes from.
Email is older than the World Wide Web
The first spam email was sent in 1978. Since then a heck of a lot of spam has been sent. In fact, 47.3 percent of e-mail traffic in September 2020 was spam.
The average computer user blinks just seven times a minute
When staring at a computer screen you blink just seven times per minute instead of the usual 20 blinks per minute when doing other things.
Hewlett-Packard’s company name was almost Packard-Hewlett
Bill Hewlett and David Packard decided the name of HP with a coin toss. It could just have easily been Packard-Hewlett.
The term robot actually means “forced labour”
Did you know the term “robot” comes from a Czech word, robota, meaning “forced labour”? If the robots ever find out that might be the start of the uprising.
Most internet traffic isn’t even real
51 per cent of all internet traffic is thought to be made up of bots and hackers, rather than real people surfing for new shoes or the latest tech news.
Some people are scared of tech
Some people are scared of tech. Technophobia is a real problem. Nomophobia is the opposite - the fear of being without your mobile phone.
A Rubik’s Cube can be solved in 20 moves or less
Did you know that Google once used a supercomputer to work out that a Rubik’s Cube can be solved in 20 turns with the right moves.
Astronaut’s wonderful alternative to life insurance
In 1969 Astronauts were forced to sign envelopes as an alternative to life insurance in case they should die. So their families could sell them for income.
The first television broadcast took place in 1925
This photo shows the first broadcast of a television picture, complete with a ventriloquist’s dummy. The transmission was a breakthrough in 1925.
Nintendo was founded as a playing card company in 1889
Gaming giant Nintendo originally started out life as a playing card company. How things have changed!
The first supercomputer weighed over a ton
This massive thing is IBM’s first supercomputer seen being loaded onto a plane. Technology has come a long way and shrunk a lot over the years.
We spend around 10 years watching TV
According to researchers, the average person spends a total of 10 years of their life watching TV.
The first photo on the World Wide Web
This is the first photo ever posted on the World Wide Web, with the secretaries and partners of the CERN scientists seen as part of all-girl comedy band.
Apple’s Macintosh advert was directed by Ridley Scott
1984’s advert for the Apple Macintosh was directed by film legend Ridley Scott and said to be the “greatest TV commercials of all time”.
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Pluto takes 248 years to orbit the Sun
This is an image of Pluto captured by the New Horizons spacecraft as it flew by in 2015. Taken at a range of 22,025 miles, it shows the “true colours” of Pluto.
There’s a subreddit run by bots
Did you know there’s a subreddit that’s run by bots? r/SubredditSimulator is managed by bots who are mimicking posts created by real users. Very odd.
Internet killed the radio star
Did you know it took 38 years for radio to reach an audience of 50 million? Television, by comparison, took just 13 years.
Firefox is actually a red panda
You’re familiar with the web browser Firefox. But did you know the browser’s logo isn’t a fox at all? It’s a Red Panda.
Nokia once sold toilet paper
Nokia might be most well known for selling phones but it actually started out as a pulp mill and later sold toilet paper too.
- Nokia through the years: The best and worst phones, in pictures
A QR code made by drones
In some places drones are used as an alternative to fireworks displays. This display included a flying QR code!
YouTube was originally a dating site
YouTube was originally designed as a dating site with the hope that people would “Tune in” and “Hook up”. Users weren’t as keen.
