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National Cat Day (and International Internet Day)

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Today is International Internet National Cat Day

National Cat Day Hell Yeah Kyrie because I said so!

Hell, yeah, it’s National Cat Day! Sure, it’s International Internet Day, too. On October 29, 1969, a few months after Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, the first message was sent across the Internet. The system crashed after the first two letters of the word “login” were shared, but that was enough to make history and change the world forever.

Approximately 40% of the world’s population has an Internet connection today, up from less than 0.5% in 1993, the year the Web browser Mosaic was introduced. Its development was funded through a U.S. government initiative championed by Al Gore. Yes, that Al Gore and no, he never said he invented the Internet.

In December 1999, there were 16 million Internet users. By the end of 2005, that number had topped 1 billion. In March 2011, it had grown to 2 billion; in June 2014, 3 billion. By 2024, the total stood at 5.5 billion.

So why are we looking at a cat right now? Because, in a cruel twist of fate, these brilliant innovators unwittingly created the medium that the furry monsters would eventually conquer. To be fair, Thomas Edison did get the ball rolling in 1894 with the first known cat video. 

First domesticated in the Middle East’s Fertile Crescent 12,000 years ago, cats have been waiting to pounce on humanity ever since. With the rise of agrarian societies, cats became indispensable for keeping grain stores rodent-free.  Today, cats are found in 34% of American households, making them the most popular household pet in the United States.

And so they bide their time, transmitting coded missives uploaded by their hapless documentarians.  It’s been estimated that over 18 million cat videos have been uploaded to YouTube. (Those statistics are from 2022, the most recent we could find. Who knows how many there are now?) The Internet Cat Video Festival toured the world from 2013 through 2016, but its creator, the Walker Art Center of Minneapolis, MN, has discontinued it to focus its funding efforts elsewhere.

Perhaps that’s because there’s no need to leave home to experience the stupefying, hypnotic power of our cuddly overlords. Need proof? Just watch the following video.

If we’ve whetted your appetite, here is another one. And another. Okay, one more and that’s all, we promise.

Just be sure to close your windows and doors so these adorable demons cannot get in and gnaw on your soft parts as you doze contentedly, lulled into a helpless state by a seemingly meaningless parade of cat hijinks.

If they learn how to open a can, none of us stand a chance.

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Google.com Day

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Google.com Day

Google Search – 1988

Today is Google.com Day. On September 15, 1997, Larry Page and Sergey Brin registered the domain.

Page and Brin met at Stanford University in 1995. The following year, they collaborated on a search engine they named BackRub because it analyzed websites’ backlinks to determine their relative importance. It ran for a year, but eventually took up so much bandwidth that it crashed Stanford’s servers.

By that time, they realized the name no longer fit their rapidly evolving search engine. During a brainstorming session, graduate student Sean Anderson suggested “googolplex,” and Page shortened it to “googol.” (Googol is the mathematical term for the digit 1 followed by 100 zeroes, while googolplex is 1 followed by a googol of zeros.)

So what’s up with the spelling? When Anderson checked to see if that domain name was available, he accidentally typed in “google.com” instead of “googol.com.” Page liked that even better, and registered the name on September 15, 1997.

According to Google, the play on words “reflects Larry and Sergey’s mission to organize a seemingly infinite amount of information on the web.” They’re doing a great job so far.

Happy Google.com Day!

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It’s National Video Games Day – Or Is It?

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national video games day

Computer Space & Pong

Today is National Video Games Day. Or is it? According to Video Game History Foundation, Video Games Day first appeared in 1991’s Chase’s Calendar of Events, which stated that David Earle, president of Kid Vid Warriors, declared July 8th “a day for kids of all ages who enjoy video games to celebrate the fun they have while playing them.”

For the next four years it remained on that date. In 1996, it changed to September 10th, before settling on September 12th the following year, for no reason we can suss out anywhere on the internet. Likewise, we don’t know when “national” was added to the holiday.

We swear that, to the best of our knowledge, the rest of this is true.

In November 1971, a company named Nutting Associates released Computer Space, the first commercial arcade video game.

Although it wasn’t a huge financial success, it marked the beginning of a fruitful partnership between creators Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, who later left to open their own outfit, Atari. They introduced Pong the following year.

In May 1972, Magnavox launched the world’s first home video game system. Initially dubbed the Brown Box by designer Ralph Baer, the unit later became known as the Odyssey and Baer, “the father of home video games.”

The Odyssey was sold exclusively in Magnavox stores; customers were told it only worked with the brand’s television sets, a convenient lie. By the end of the year, the company reported it had sold 100,000 units for approximately $100 each.

The box contained no microprocessor, only a board of transistors and diodes. The display consisted of white squares on a black background and was accompanied by a user manual and six cards that contained pinouts to change game settings. Custom plastic overlays had to be taped over the television screen to create color and very simple graphics.

In 1975, Atari introduced a home version of its popular arcade game, Pong, which quickly surpassed Magnavox’s sales. In 1976, Fairchild Camera and Instrument introduced the first cartridge-based system. RCA released the cartridge-based Studio II in January 1977, but it focused mainly on educational titles.

In October 1977, Atari released the Atari VCS with an initial offering of nine games, including Air-Sea Battle, Basic Math, Blackjack, Combat, Indy 500, Star Ship, Street Racer, Surround, and Video Olympics. This system, later renamed the Atari 2600, would go on to dominate the industry for many years.

Celebrate National Video Games Day on your home console or enjoy the latest massively multiplayer online game. Throw a party with game-themed decorations and food. Pick up some old Atari 2600 joysticks on eBay, spray paint them, and give them as trophies for the best costumes.

No matter how it started, have a happy National Video Games Day — every day of the year, if you like!

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International Creepy Boston Dynamics Horse Day

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Today is International Creepy Boston Dynamics Horse Day. On September 10, 2012, Boston Dynamics released footage of a rough-terrain robot it developed with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Marine Corps.

The robot’s official name is The Legged Squad Support System (LS3). Its sensors allow it to follow a human leader while avoiding obstacles. It carries up to 400 pounds and travels 20 miles before it requires refueling.

It is an impressive feat of engineering. There is also a nightmarish quality to its movement. Check it out:

There have been many iterations since then, but each one looks creepy. We know the uncanny valley theory applies to the discomfort and repulsion we feel when looking at robots that appear nearly human, but I think it applies here as well. Imagine a horse looking at this thing. Would she see a Terminator sent from the future to kill her, even if she’s never seen the movies? Food for thought.

Happy International Creepy Boston Dynamics Horse Day!

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