Google's name is a misspelling
Larry Page and Sergey Brin wanted 'Googol' (10¹⁰⁰). A graduate student misspelled it as 'Google' on a cheque. The domain was registered that way and the rest is history.
// 24 facts • sorted by wow
Apple was literally saved by Microsoft
In 1997, when Apple was weeks from bankruptcy, Microsoft invested $150 million and agreed to continue making Office for Mac for 5 years. Bill Gates appeared on screen at Macworld to thunderous boos. Steve Jobs called it a new era of cooperation.
Modern CPUs execute billions of nops
Modern out-of-order CPUs are so fast they often execute 'nothing' - NOP instructions - to keep pipelines full. A 6 GHz CPU can execute over 6 billion NOPs per second while idling. Your computer literally does nothing at full speed.
The first computer bug was a real bug
On September 9, 1947, Grace Hopper's team found a moth trapped in a relay of the Harvard Mark II. They taped it to the logbook with the note 'first actual case of bug being found.' The term 'debugging' was born.
JavaScript was built in 10 days
Brendan Eich created JavaScript in just 10 days in May 1995 at Netscape. Originally called Mocha, then LiveScript, then JavaScript to ride Java's hype. Its rushed design explains why we still debate 'this' three decades later.
DNA is the most dense storage ever
One gram of synthetic DNA can store 215 petabytes - the entire internet could fit in a shoebox of DNA with room to spare. In 2019 researchers encoded an entire OS, movies, and files into DNA.
The first 1GB hard drive weighed 550 pounds
IBM 3380 (1980) was the first 1 GB drive - size of a refrigerator, weighed 550 lbs (250 kg), cost up to $80,000. Today a $12 microSD card holds 1 TB in your fingernail.
Apollo 11 ran on 4KB of RAM
The Apollo Guidance Computer had 4 KB RAM and 72 KB ROM - woven by hand by women nicknamed 'Little Old Ladies'. Today's Apple Watch has over 1 million times more RAM.
Quantum supremacy achieved in 200 seconds
Google's Sycamore (2019) solved a task in 200 seconds that would take the world's fastest supercomputer ~10,000 years. First demonstration of quantum supremacy.
ChatGPT reached 1M users in 5 days
OpenAI launched ChatGPT on Nov 30, 2022. It became the fastest-growing consumer app in history - 1 million users in just 5 days. Instagram took 2.5 months.
AlphaGo defeated world Go champion
In 2016 Google's AlphaGo beat 9-dan master Lee Sedol 4-1. Go has more possible positions than atoms in the observable universe (10¹⁷⁰). This event accelerated global AI investment.
Morris Worm took down 10% of the internet
Released Nov 2, 1988 by Robert Morris, the first major internet worm infected ~6,000 machines (10% of the internet). It caused millions in damage and led to the first conviction under the Computer Fraud Act.
Voyager 1 still talks after 47+ years
Launched 1977, Voyager 1 is humanity's farthest object (15.4 billion miles). It transmits data with a 23-watt radio - weaker than a fridge light bulb. Still operational in 2025.
Bitcoin whitepaper published on Halloween
Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin whitepaper on Oct 31, 2008. The genesis block (Jan 3, 2009) contains the headline: 'The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks'.
First computer mouse was made of wood
Doug Engelbart's 1964 prototype was carved from a single block of wood with two metal wheels. Debuted in the legendary 1968 'Mother of All Demos' alongside hypertext and video calls.
Observable universe has 2 trillion galaxies
2016 Hubble + other data revised the estimate from 100-200 billion to over 2 trillion galaxies. Each containing hundreds of billions of stars. Mind-bending scale.
Heartbleed exposed half a million servers
2014 OpenSSL Heartbleed bug (CVE-2014-0160) allowed attackers to read server memory, exposing private keys and passwords from ~500,000 servers including Yahoo, Gmail, and governments.
The first website is still live
Tim Berners-Lee launched the world's first website on August 6, 1991 at CERN. It explained the World Wide Web project. The original URL - info.cern.ch - still resolves today, making it the longest-running website in history at over 34 years old.
Email predates the internet by over a decade
Ray Tomlinson sent the first networked email in 1971 on ARPANET. He invented the @ symbol. He later said he couldn't remember the content of that historic first message.
Google's name is a misspelling
Larry Page and Sergey Brin wanted 'Googol' (10¹⁰⁰). A graduate student misspelled it as 'Google' on a cheque. The domain was registered that way and the rest is history.
Minecraft sold for $2.5 billion
Notch released Minecraft in 2009 as a side project. Microsoft acquired Mojang for $2.5 billion in 2014. Today it has sold over 300 million copies - the best-selling game ever.
First 'Hello, World!' program - 1972
Brian Kernighan used the phrase in a 1972 tutorial for the B language (predecessor to C). It became the universal first program in almost every language taught since.
First smartphone: IBM Simon (1994)
IBM Simon (1994) had a touchscreen, email, calendar, fax, and apps - 13 years before iPhone. Cost $899 with a 1-hour battery. The true grandfather of modern smartphones.
First webcam watched a coffee pot (1991)
Cambridge University researchers set up the world's first webcam to check if the Trojan Room coffee pot was full. It ran 24/7 until 2001 when the pot was retired.
Python was named after a comedy show
Guido van Rossum named Python after Monty Python's Flying Circus, not the snake. He wanted a name that was short, unique, and slightly mysterious. The language was designed to be fun to use - the comedic naming was intentional.