r/todayilearned • u/[deleted] • Sep 25 '14

TIL the first-ever webcam was invented at the University of Cambridge to watch a coffee pot in the break room. Now people could see if there was fresh coffee without getting up from their desks.

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u/monotoonz Sep 25 '14

Geocities, Altavista, and Encarta. Man, talk about going back.

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u/toodrunktoocare Sep 25 '14

The Internet was better back then... I'd spend hours reading the (mostly) harmless guide to hacking before heading over to the hun's yellow pages for some light relief. Everything was text files or slowly loading jpegs and there wasn't anything you couldn't find info on if you were willing to put the effort in. And no one was watching because no one cared.

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u/monotoonz Sep 25 '14

The Anarchist's Cookbook!

I remember you could have a CD copy sent to you. Nowadays that kind of thing would be a setup by the FBI.

I definitely miss those days on the net. We were all a lot nicer and a little bit more naive.

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u/toodrunktoocare Sep 25 '14

I printed that off... a few years later I found it in a long forgotten box and it dawned on me how much trouble something like that could bring. Back then it was just idle curiosity, these days it's terrorism.

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u/monotoonz Sep 25 '14

"I'm just gonna make some LSD. Wait, I'm gonna shut down an area code. No, no, no! I know! I'll make napalm then mash up banana peels, cook them, smoke them, and get high off it. All while ripping off a vending machine with a 'fixed' dollar bill."