How Belgium Nearly Invented The Internet In 1910
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- Опубликовано: 3 дек 2022
- In 1910, two beardy Belgians started a project: to collect the entirety of human knowledge in one place, and make it available to everyone. It sounds like they wanted to create Wikipedia or Google - but unfortunately, no-one had invented web servers or home computers yet. So instead, they ended up making the world's greatest filing cabinet. I travelled to the city of Mons to see the beast for myself, and find out more about its incredible story...
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FURTHER INFO
"The web that time forgot", New York Times - www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/he...
"Mundaneum: the Belgian archive that anticipated the internet" - The Independent - www.independent.co.uk/travel/...
PHOTO CREDITS
Palais du Cinquaintenaire Panorama by Redvers - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Parc du Cinquantenaire photo by Ben2 - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Vint Cerf by Duncan Hull / The Royal Society - upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
Bob Kahn by Veni Markovski - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
The Internet by Martin Deutsch - www.flickr.com/photos/teflon/...
Bakelite telephone by digitalmuseum.se - digitaltmuseum.se/01102497926...
Gramophone by Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci" | Alessandro Nassiri - www.wikiwand.com/en/Victor_Ta...
Early 50s TV set by John Atherton - www.flickr.com/photos/gbaku/2...
Bob Taylor by Gardner Campbell - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Given the name “munduneum” the term “world wide web” is probably even more in line with their project than “internet”.
It seems like most people do not understand the difference between "the world wide web" and "the internet", and apparently even some of the original inventors have given up on making that clear.
@@Rob2 Just go with it. It is the same as hacking (which btw is really just "bodging together", especially using timber). And secretly feel superior because you do know the difference between internet, www, http, tcp/ip and wikipedia.
And then to know that that name, www, was co-invented by a Belgian too, namely Robert Cailliau. Ooh what a quirky little country we are! 😊
It's mundaneum not munduneum.
@@pieter7319 It is sometimes stated that WiFi was invented here in the Netherlands, at a research office of NCR nearby where I live.
It can be debated, but certainly the group within NCR that created a wireless network for their cash register equipment and established the first WiFi standard worked from there.
Buddy, everything from the rick roll to the play button for inventing RUclips is PURE AND UTTER GOLD !
I also loved the "The Internet" box from the IT Crowd
And the song "The internet is for "
@@walterh2113 with the IT Crowd theme music being played on the piano in the background to Tim's voiceover while the box is on-screen.
And the theme from Tomorrow’s World! That’s quite obscure these days.
And the Location Location Location accompaniment to being relocated
This is the only channel that makes me want to travel abroad just to visit a Filing Cabinet. XD
😂 I'm picturing myself explaining this surprise to my kids, when they were expecting Disneyland Paris
You must not have heard of the world's tallest filing cabinet in Vermont.
@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 Sounds dangerous
or Belgium for that matter
NOOO, "The IT Crowd" theme on piano *killed me* 😂
I didn't catch that, but the box with "the internet" as a background I did!
I wasn't awake enough during my first watch (had to rewatch to catch all the easter eggs)
I did recognize "The internet is for P***" way to Quick
I'm an academic librarian and I am so glad that you made this video. It's a really clear introduction to Otlet's work. My former chief librarian, who died in his 40s, had a special interest in Otlet and the Mundaneum. You did him proud.
If you ever experience slow internet, you can blame the Belgians for never getting things done
That's our politicians you're talking about, not us mere mortal Belgians.... :)
Just the shitty government and our population voting stupidly
When you're internet is slow it's actually because the packets are being routed through Belgium and because of waffle-iron politics they have to be equally split between Flanders and Wallonia.
@@hedgehog3180 In short, belgian post services.
Also explained that your computer is fried after a short circuit. (and potato cameras)
ps. all to be taken with a grain of salt. ;)
Think the Belgians went six months without a government, and prospered...
Great choice of piano-music Tim, you are a genius.
I don't know what it says about me that I recognized it the first second.
The internet is really, really great!
Same, after the first few bars of the song I caught it then the timing was spot on.
@@brendandenney Glad I am not the only one. I did look through the comments to see if someone else had mentioned it before, and was very surprised I seemed to be the first.
Tim does that all the time, I am just happy if I can catch it, and I did it this time.
I know, but this time it was in my area of "expertise" and was happy to catch a lot of them
It says about you that you have a healthy interest in Broadway musicals and pop culture. 😁😇
As a document and paperwork collector, the notion that there once existed, and still to a lesser degree, a massive filing cabinet full of cards with information on *everything*…it’s a weird mix of arousal and sadness and jealousy 😂
Instant thumbs up for the IT Crowd reference. 😂
Came here for this comment
It was driving me batty what that piano jingle was, on the tip of my tongue
... and the blurred picture 😆
@@garage6346 I just rewatched the opening. Perfect!
@@garage6346 football friend
As a librarian old enough to have filed catalogue cards, this was fascinating. As a trainee I was allowed to place the card in the correct location, but not to pull the rod out which then secured them in place. That was a professional librarian's job as once a card goes in the wrong place it's lost for ever. Thank goodness the internet replaced all that!
Why forever?
@@Anonymous-df8it Nobody has any idea where to look for it any more.
@@wolfgangmcq What's a catalogue card?
@@Anonymous-df8it Be grateful they are long gone from libraries. In ye olden days (up to approx 1990) each book had cards in a drawers like the ones in Tim's video. So you had to look for the card by author(s) or by subject, find the shelf number and then go to the shelf hoping the book would be there. As you can imagine it was all very labour intensive and inefficient. Online catalogues got rid of them.
@@Anonymous-df8it As if the card went in the wrong place it would be very difficult to find to remove it other than by searching through thousands of cards.
Even M. Otlet got rickrolled on his internet.
There's another Belgian involved in the history of the internet: Robert Cailliau worked together with Tim Berners-Lee on the WWW (and he designed the 1st WWW logo)
Indeed. Surprisingly the English Wikipedia page about the World Wide Web only mentions Robert Cailliau as the designer of the first WWW logo while the French page clearly states that Cailliau's involvement was substantial. There is a page about Robert Cailliau though.
@@TheEstampe sounds like someone who speaks both should edit the English one to update it 😁 (I can't because I don't speak French)
Brilliant find, Tim. As a former Software Engineer who used a connection to the ARPAnet in 1977 from the UK, I feel I should pay it a visit sometime. Checking out the roots of my career.
As a Belgian, I'm so happy you covered the Mondaneum and Mondothèque! It's definitely a story worth telling, and it's fascinating to see what these two were thinking about so early in history. Can't wait for the Netflix adaptation of their life stories :-).
Wont happen because it doesn't involve sex, gender crap or female empowerment motives
as a belgian? lol nobody says that, youre wallonian or from flanders.
@@r.a.h7682 Nope I identify myself as a Belgian just like everyone else of my friends family and collegues.
Our football team the Red devils are a Belgian team, we wave our Belgian flags on international events and we sell BELGIAN beer and BELGIAN choclates with the world not "Flemish" or "Wallonian"
Don't hold your breath!?!
The mention of the trade fair for the Belgian rubber industry gets much, much darker when you know about Belgium's history with the Congo.
Not belgium but the king of the belgian's it was his private state and not from belgium belgium gaind it in 1908 and named it the belgian congo and that crap that happend in the private state was done by murcs fro france britain the usa and nordic country's with the force public .
I should try the Internet. All the cool kids are talking about it.
Just say no to peer pressure!
@@renakunisaki but say yes to peering agreements.
"It's a 15 minute walk from the railway station, itself an hour south of Brussels."
Me in Essex: "Ohhh, Hainaut!"
via Newbury Park!
It is in "Hainaut" [no l], not "Hainault via Newbury Park" 😉
As you say, this is the progenitor of Wikipedia. For a true precursor to the Internet you have to look at medieval monasteries. These were centres of learning and research (many formed the great Universities of Europe), linked by fast and reliable (for the time) communication networks, often duplicating knowledge to avoid it being lost in the case of one monastery (or node) being destroyed by hostile actions.
if you're counting something as crude as that as the internet, then Ashurbanipal's library also counts
@@rin_etoware_2989 Preserving and distributing knowledge is amongst humanity's most ancient traditions. Mocking their efforts is very modern and never as clever as the ridiculers seem to think.
The way you always, without fail, mention accessibility to the wacky places you find warms my heart
This is amazing! I've heard of jokes about what the internet would look like in real life and now I find out an actual one existed long before the internet itself had been created. I think it's pretty cool how much hard work they must've done to make the entire thing. The fact that one of the men was able to predict the internet is amazing, too. It's too bad most of it got destroyed though. Thanks for sharing this story with us! It's nice to know about something this interesting that I might've not known otherwise.
Mon Dieu, I'm Belgian and I never knew about this! Now I have a reason to do the unthinkable and visit Wallonia!
I hope you will survive 07
it's a rather nice historic city centre with lots of beautifully restored old buildings, you have to give it to Di Rupo, he knew/knows how to get invstments in his city. The station (massively over budget and overdue) is almost finished now, and while I still miss the old one and think the new one was not necessary, Calatrava knows how to design something imaginative. There's the PASS, similarly to Technopolis, There's Le Grand Hornu, a former mining complex from the 19th century, the Belfry tower, city hall and collegiate church St Waudru, just to name a few highlights. And of course, Dour with the biggest music festival in the southern part of Belgium, is a stone throw away.
@@barvdw this convinced me. I shall brave the journey
Bezoek eens "Karelkoning" ;-) aka Charleroi, mijn dierbare geboortestad. De beste locale gids is Nicolas Buissart - en geloof het of niet, hij spreekt NL (sort of, tenminste) 😁
@@yagi3925 je hebt wel een goede gids nodig, vrees ik, om niet een beetje teneergeslagen te raken na zo'n treurtrip™. En in tegenstelling tot Mons slaagt Charleroi er veel minder in om z'n centrum opgefrist te krijgen, het blijft vrij verloederd. Mensen zijn er wel erg vriendelijk.
3:47 Quite ironic, how they cleared out half the space for a trade fair.
That's like today, when half your screen is covered by ads and the other half contains the information you're actually looking for.
Not only that, but it was a trade fair featuring rubber. *cough* Belgian Congo *cough*
With Tom Scott @TomScottGo looking for interesting subjects and asking the entire Internet for them, you still managed to com up with a video on this AMAZING subject before him! All new to me.
Still hope that Tom will make a video about it, would love to see the different approaches. Like Tom would probably explain more how the system worked, how you would find the information you were looking for. Curious about that now!
The francophone side of Europe is safely Tim's turf. Tom can cover the other places.
Let's face facts Tom does not have Tim style!! 🤠👍
@@mfaizsyahmi It's like the Treaty of Tordesillas but for youtubers.
@@worldtraveler930 To be fair, the reverse is also true.
I am so glad that all the mentioned creative people know each other, and work together just enough to surprise us! Like with Jay Foreman's videos.
If Otlet & La Fontaine were the grandfathers of the WWW (& your wonderful video certainly highlights this, Tim!), then Conrad Gessner (1516-1565) was the great-great-great-etc-etc-father of indexing information. In 1548-49 he issued the first subject index - the Pandectarum. It was meant as a key to his overview of all printed works in Latin, Hebrew and Greek, the Bibliotheca Universalis from 1545. You should pop over here to Zurich to do a video on Gessner. Or Scheuchzer. Or the other Gessner 😀
This is easily the most interesting topic you’ve covered yet. I have a degree in computer science, but they never told me about curious pieces of history like this. Thanks for telling this story, Tim.
Computer science graduate here as well. These two grandfathers were never mentioned in the text book. Only Vint Cerf and Tim Berners-Lee.
Agreed never came up in my Mathematics and Computer Science degree either.
Jonathan Medes once commented “Magritte was a realist, it’s Belgium that’s surreal.”
I always love how Tim can present a random topic on something I never thought I would find interesting and keep me on the edge of my seat wanting for more.
Thank you Tim!
Great video. Fun fact: the team that devised the WWW had a Belgian member :)
In regards to inventing the internet, it’s less a case of who should be given credit than it is who should be held responsible.
What did Kaiser Bill know that we didn't?
Maybe the Belgian government knew better about access to too much information! ;-)
I love how you always manage to find topics I had never heard of from my region (southern Belgium) despite me living here my entire life.
I just love your background music jokes, this episode's nod to Avenue Q was my favourite!
I so appreciate The IT Crowd is playing in the background
I was today years old when I learned about this magical cabinet located about 30 minutes from where I live. Thanks!
Gotta love the IT crowd music and background at the beginning
Hi Tim, what a great video.
It's an art to make a dull topic like a big filing cabinet fun and intriguing.
My compliments! respect!
you find filing cabinets dull?
Thank you for this fascinating and amusing documentary, Tim! I had no idea that the core ideas of what has become the web were outlined as a framework in Belgium. Thank you for your efforts in making this to enlighten both me and many others!
Great video. Loved the IT crowd reference.
I can't believe that I got Rickrolled here....
Also nobody going to talk about the background music?
_Everybody_ talks about Tim's background music. (-:
For those interested in 'the rest of the story', there's a great, easy to understand, and entertaining book called "Where wizards stay up late: The origins of the Internet". Available in print, on e-readers and audio.
I always laugh when narrating Tim makes a joke and starts yelling to someone away from the microphone. I like to think it's a cat lol
3:33 I see what you did with the music. Well done.
There are very few people on RUclips where I see that a video is about filling cabinets and think "this will be interesting" 😅 And I wasn't disappointed - it was!
Toujours très bon Tim ! Maintenant, lorsqu'un theme musical au piano débute, je tente toujours de deviner de quoi il s'agit; tu as planté tellement d'oeufs de Pâques dans les videos passés que je ne veux pas en manquer un!
Ça me fait penser à la musique du générique de IT Crowd
@@mammouth2727 C'est justement ça la référence, avec en background la fameuse boîte noire qui contient l'entièreté de l'Internet présentée dans l'un des épisodes :)
As a non-Frenchman who can read some French, I was completely off guard by the "d'oeufs de Pâques", which I'd had to look up. (and so the rabbit hole goes)
@@NoNameForNone Hahaha! Being a bilingual Canadian, I tried my best to translate the well known "Easter Egg" calling of clever surprises hidden within artist's creations. I might have invented the french equivalent in fact! Reverting back to Tim, I adore the fact that he is a francophile brit living in France and that there seems to be an association/friendship/brotherhood of co-YT creators Geoff Marshal and Jay Foreman.
There’s also a reference for “the internet is for porn” (Avenue q musical)
Your soundtracks are always full of surprises...an Advent calendar, you could say. Love it.
A the IT Crowd reference and a Rick roll. You are spoling us Tim
I learn more from my own country with one of your videos, than with a year of watching Belgian TV.
Love the little The IT Crowd spoof there.
Damn. I wonder what the two of them would think if they saw the world today... Thanks for bringing the mundaneum to my attention! ^^
Essentially a big library and encyclopedia! Excellent!!
Loved the IT Crowd theme!!
The last place I expected to get Rick rolled was this channel! Well played Tim!
Thanks again for a great video. Love the Rick Astley cameo.
My contribution: in the rock opera Tommy, Pete Townshend foresaw something known as The Grid, I think, where people would be connected. And as I'm sure you're aware Minitel was very big in France through the eighties. Would be great to see a video on that.
The music, just hilarious, for us that actually seen Avenue Q 😅❤ 3:44
The Avenue Q playing in the background disguised as an old timey piano piece is such a brilliant musical touch
They had “adult topics” and later half of it was cleared out to make room for a rubber industry presentation? That’s ironic.
I suppose their version of spam would be someone jumping out from around a corner and flicking index cards at you.
Thank you for always mentioning the accessibility of the places you go. as a wheelchair user I really appreciate it.
This feels like something Tom Scott would cover. Seriously though these two were ahead of the curve.
3:33 Brilliantly subtle choice of background music :)
It always amazes me how many folk from decades and even centuries past had pretty much hit the nail on the head with certain inventions, even if their version doesn't quite grasp the small scale we have thanks to a little thing called the microchip.
Yet another informative and interesting upload ...thanks Tim keep it up!
Another banger of a video, I don't know how you keep finding this stuff but please don't stop!
Tim, this is one of your best yet. Entertaining, informative and eye-opening.
The music when talking about what was stored is perfect for the topics at 3:32
This was a fascinating video, thank you for taking us to these amazing places!
I'm so glad you always mention how accessible the places are that you visit.
My favorite laidback youtuber. So cool. Thank you Super Tim
Your videos are brilliant. Love the editing (the Rick Roll and the meta TV in a TV, haha) and I just love the topics you select. Truly great videos. Been watching you for years now and it just gets better and better. Thanks for all the cool stuff you do!
Hey Tim, a big thank you for covering these stories. Your other Belgian history videos thought so much about my country, I hope your visits have been fun to you personally, merci à toi
OMG, You're the very best my friend! You deserve your own tv show. Loved every second of this, ...more please!
i love that you used the avenue q song on 3:19. even when you said about the internet being born here it lines up with the song lyrics
Yep. That was nice.
FABULOUS episode, Monsieur Tim! One of the most fascinating vids so far, on your channel. Je suis gobsmacké! 👏
This is an awesome episode! Thanks mate - I learned something new again.
Oh that subtle music nod to AvenueQ when talking about.. erhm.. adult stuff.. Bravo Tim, JUST BRAVO!!!
Currently reading the book Cataloging the World: Paul Otlet and the Birth of the Information Age. So far it's made me appreciate libraries a lot more. Thanks for this video!
Loved it, thank you for this wonderful story, it was a pleasure to learn about this.
Fantastic video Tim! I think this may be my favourite one yet
Fascinating and interesting story Tim thanks so much for sharing. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
thanks for making these lovely bite sized docos that are super interesting. I love your content and its super digestable for someone who has seemingly no time for good content anymore I love this a lot
Documentaries.
@@kiereluurs1243 ???
Tim I just wanna say I love the audio design of your videos. I always try and recognise the songs and listen for jokes. And the content is really good!
Wow, one of the best videos you've put so far and you had a lot of great ones.
Amazing story, concisely presented. Thank you.
Congratulations on 300K Subs Tim!! Most deserved 🎉💋
Excellent work as always Tim keep it up!!! 🤠👍
This video is so amazing I'm speechless!
Good one, mate!
I'd love to visit this for nostalgia's sake, my town's library used to have index cabinets. I still miss flipping through those drawers, with the mish-mash of hand written and typed out cards.
I have an endless admiration for how you come up with this stuff. I'm a Belgian and I have never heard of it.
Fantastic find, great story. Would love to visit that cabinet now weirdly enough. Btw thanks for always adding the info if the place is wheelchair accessible!
This was truly inspiring! Love your work!
just top notch editing and effects. well done Tim
Wonderful video.
Thanks Tim.
Love the TW theme music.
I’m glad I’m not the only person who recognised that!
@@sjmelnikoff
So am I.
Tim. I love your videos and, of course, subscribed. I wanted to tell you that when I hear your into music, it really transports me along with you on these wonderful adventures. I didn’t realize this until right now. Travel, seeking adventures and history, and shared community are more important to me than I guess I realized as I tried to figure out what it was your intro music was making me feel. Anyway, thank you very much. I hope we cross paths one day on a small hill near an historic plaque. Cheers, Michael
Thank you for the "internet"-box from THE IT-CROWD and the fitting background music. And for the rick-roll at the end. You always find interesting subjects and present them in an informativ and fun way!
Wow amazing video,great graphics, incredible story telling.ive been watching you for a while but this one gave me chills. Great video!
Hi The internaut I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….🌹🌹
One of the best videos I watched in times, clear, complete and new
Je n’avais aucune idée de tout cela. Merci pour ce fantastique vidéo !
I do love the music you use, always a nostalgia hit!
Thank you for posting. Eerily prescient!
Thank you for sharing this beautiful piece of history.
Quality video!! Really a very very good job you are doing ! Enjoying all of your videos. And it's especially nice to see videos about Belgium
*especially bad