How did the internet get started?

The internet began as a way for large computers to share information with one another. In 1969, a U.S.-funded research network called ARPANET connected university machines, proving that messages could travel between distant computers instead of staying trapped on one machine.

The clever part was breaking information into small addressed pieces, then sending those pieces through whatever routes were open. Years later, Tim Berners-Lee added the World Wide Web, where pages could point to other pages. That made the network much easier for ordinary families to use.