History of ARPANET: The Internet's Origins

ARPANET, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, was the first operational packet-switching network and precursor to the internet. It connected four universities in 1969, allowing data to be shared efficiently at great distances.

ARPANET's major contribution was the use of packet switching, a method for effectively transmitting electronic data that became a foundational technology for the internet. This was a key departure from inefficient circuit-switching methods.

The first message sent over ARPANET was 'LO' from UCLA to Stanford on October 29, 1969. It was an attempt to type 'LOGIN', but the system crashed after the first two letters.

Initially linking four major universities, ARPANET expanded internationally by 1973, connecting to university networks in England and Norway. This expansion demonstrated the network's potential to go beyond a military and academic tool.

On January 1, 1983, ARPANET adopted the TCP/IP protocol suite, paving the way for the modern internet. This protocol allowed different kinds of networks to interconnect and communicate, which led to the vast, global internet we know today.

The first emoji-like character was sent over ARPANET in 1979, predating modern emojis by decades.