Ethernet cable standard was sketched out on a napkin by Bob Metcalfe in 1973 while he was crashing at a friend's house and trying to figure out how to network computers without everything constantly crashing.

A closer look

Ethernet cable standard was sketched out on a napkin by Bob Metcalfe in 1973 while he was crashing at a friend's house and trying to figure out how to network computers without everything constantly crashing. He based the entire concept on AlohaNet, an experimental radio network developed in Hawaii that essentially allowed systems to yell data at each other and politely wait their turn if a collision occurred. Decades later, despite the widespread dominance of flawless wireless internet, there is still an archaic umbilical cord of blue wire snaking behind your television stand just in case the router acts up. It is endlessly amusing that the backbone of high-speed global digital infrastructure is basically a refined version of a napkin doodle relying on the electronic equivalent of politely taking turns in a crowded room