The fact that the internet is undoubtedly the biggest technological evolution of the twentieth century is widely accepted. Most people make use of the world wide web on a daily basis – for work, leisure, boredom, anything. But given the vastness of the internet, there’s always stuff we don’t know. Until now! Here’s a list of 6 things you didn’t know about the internet, and now do.
- Only 49% of all internet traffic is human
If you thought we were the only ones driving along the highway of internet corrections, you’re wrong. More than half of internet traffic consists of bots. Suddenly the captcha pop-ups don’t seem so unnecessary.
- The Deep Web is probably over 500 times bigger than the Surface Web
The Deep Web is the common name for all unindexed sites combined. The complexity of this part of the internet is often abused by criminals to stay under the radar. Given the insane quantity of indexed websites, the fact that the Deep Web is at least 500 times bigger is hard to grasp.
- 19% of all married people meet online
Dating and relationships too have been affected by the emergence of the internet. With an abundance of dating sites and the popularity of dating apps ever increasing, this is not all that surprising. Why limit yourself to the local potential spouses when you have the entire world to discover?
- There’s an online alternative for everything
We like to mimic the real world online. The popularity of games like The Sims have underlined this habit. But what most people don’t know is that basic day-to-day things can often be found online. Next to the digital meeting rooms that have been gaining momentum the past year, interactive possibilities such as live dealer online casinos, online escape rooms and other fun things can be found online! You no longer have to leave the house in order to find hours of entertainment.
- There are more devices linked to internet than there are people
How many devices do you have that link to the internet? Right. Now let’s assume there are still a lot of people that don’t own devices, the fact that internet devices still outnumber the human population is pretty incredible. However, with the introduction of the Internet of Things, let’s hope devices don’t actually develop intelligence and turn against us. We’re already outnumbered.
- The first webcam was used to watch a coffee pot
What to do when you work in the Computer Laboratory of the University of Cambridge and you keep finding your coffee pot empty every time you walk into the kitchen? Right, you point a camera towards it to keep an eye on your precious coffee. That’s exactly what the first ever webcam was used for.
Countless more unknowns
This is just a minuscule fraction of what there’s to know about the internet. However, all there is to know about the internet is still a fraction of what it actually entails. Just like the oceans, we’ve only charted a few percent of the entire thing.