• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Email

It’s nearly impossible to imagine life without the World Wide Web, which has had an indelible impact on the way we live, work, and connect. Today, roughly two-thirds of the world’s population has access to this vast network of more than one billion websites. But the internet didn’t always look like this. Initially, it was devoid of websites and was primarily used for email by universities, researchers, and government agencies, with early precursor networks dating back to the 1960s. 

Then, on January 1, 1983, the internet was “born” with the establishment of a universal language, a communications protocol called Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). While this allowed for file transferring and text-based directories, “dot-coms” did not yet exist. This lasted until August 6, 1991, when the world’s very first website — a page explaining what a website is — launched. This invention, defined as a collection of materials stored in a file archive for public access via the internet, changed the world forever.

Since that groundbreaking development, billions of users have visited countless web addresses, most of which begin with the familiar letters “WWW” or “HTTP.” Created in the late 1980s, those acronyms, which stand for “World Wide Web” and “Hypertext Transfer Protocol,” respectively, are the building blocks of the modern internet, designed to allow users to connect via websites across a global network. 

So how did we go from one lonely website to billions of them, and what’s the significance of those acronyms? Let’s jump in and decode these mysteries.

The World Wide Web’s Humble Beginnings

In 1989, British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee was working at CERN (a French acronym for the European Organization for Nuclear Research) when he had a breakthrough idea that led to the creation of the World Wide Web. “There have always been things which people are good at, and things computers have been good at, and little overlap between the two,” Berners-Lee explained in 1998. 

He noted that computers worked “mechanically in tables and hierarchies” while humans usually opted for “intuition and understanding.” He imagined a system that could bridge the gap.

Berners-Lee’s vision was to develop a way to view and link documents across different computers, using the internet as the backbone. He partnered with Belgian systems engineer Robert Cailliau on the  project and coined the term “World Wide Web” in 1989 to emphasize the global reach and decentralized nature of the web. On a NeXT computer (designed by none other than Steve Jobs), the team created a network of hypertext documents viewable on web browsers. 

By the time Berners-Lee was ready to launch in 1991, he had invented “HTML” (Hypertext Markup Language), “HTTP” (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), “URL” (Uniform Resource Locator), and, of course, the World Wide Web itself.

The World’s First Website

On August 6, 1991, the world’s first website, info.cern.ch, was launched by CERN. The site provided instructions for users to create their own web pages and explained the function of hypertext — coded text that links to content on the internet. Still active today, the site also now explains the history of Berners-Lee’s project.

By 1992, there were only 10 websites on the World Wide Web, but by the late 1990s, in large part due to the launch of Google, that number had ballooned to 2 million. Unfortunately, most early websites weren’t archived and have since vanished. In 2013, however, CERN revived its original site, unveiling what some may call a digital fossil of the early web. The resurgence of info.cern.ch brought about an interesting question: Why didn’t that URL include”WWW” or “HTTP”? 

So Why Do We Use “WWW”?

The “WWW” in a URL is an abbreviation for “World Wide Web,” but contrary to what some may believe, this part of a URL isn’t actually necessary for a website to work. You could type in “google.com” instead of “www.google.com” and still land in the same place. That’s because “WWW” is more of a naming convention than a technical requirement: Back in the 1990s, it helped distinguish websites from other services, such as email servers.

Today, many websites omit the “WWW” completely, but it’s still widely used as a stylistic choice in certain instances, such as marketing and print materials. When featured on billboards, postcards, TV commercials, and magazine ads, “WWW” clearly signals that the address in question is a website. 

Basically, while “WWW” isn’t essential anymore, it remains one of the most recognizable acronyms on the web, earning it a permanent place in internet tradition and history.

What’s the Meaning of “HTTP” and “HTTPS”?

Another acronym often seen in website URLs is “HTTP,” but this one actually does serve a functional purpose. It stands for “Hypertext Transfer Protocol” — that is, a communication protocol allowing browsers and servers to exchange information and permitting users to access websites. It essentially acts as a set of rules that lets your browser “talk” to the server, enabling it to load text, images, videos, and everything else you see and hear on web pages. Without “HTTP,” the World Wide Web couldn’t function.

You may notice there is sometimes an “S” at the end of the “HTTP” acronym, which stands for “secure.” If a URL starts with “HTTPS,” it means the site in question encrypts your data. This adds a layer of security to protect users and safeguard sensitive information, including passwords and credit card numbers. Most websites today use “HTTPS,” and browsers may even warn you if a site doesn’t use it and therefore isn’t secure.

Are There Other URL Protocols?

While “HTTP” and “HTTPS” are by far the most commonly seen internet protocols at the beginning of web addresses today, they’re just two among thousands of others. These protocols generally fall into three main categories: communication, management, and security, with “HTTP” and “HTTPS” belonging to the security category.

Most alternative protocols are rarely encountered by everyday users, either because they serve technical functions or because they operate in areas of the internet that aren’t easily accessible to the public. That said, you may still have utilized a few of them while surfing the net. For instance, “mailto://” opens your default email application to start a draft addressed to the email in the URL, while “ftp://” transfers files between computers over a network.

So if you stumble across a URL that starts with something unfamiliar, it may not be a red flag for a dangerous site; it’s probably just a different protocol designed for a specific purpose. The internet is much more flexible than we probably realize and likely much more expansive than Tim Berners-Lee could have ever imagined.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Email

Southpaws. Lefties. Mollydookers. There’s no shortage of nicknames for the left-handed people of the world, even if much of everyday life seems to have been designed without them in mind. 

Hand preference remains an intriguing puzzle for scientists, with researchers still questioning why a small percentage of people favor their left hand over their right. This quirk has caused lefties to be saddled with historical baggage and ongoing inconveniences — unfortunately, The Simpsons’ Leftorium, where left-handed folks can find everything from can openers to cars suited to their needs, remains fictional.

We may still be working to uncover the origins of this unusual hand preference and to create a more lefty-friendly world, but in the meantime, here are some curious facts about left-handed life. 

Being Left-Handed Used To Be a Red Flag

For centuries, being left-handed in a primarily right-handed world wasn’t just inconvenient; it was also seen as suspicious or even dangerous. This bias goes way back: The word “sinister” comes from a Latin word of the same spelling meaning “on the left side.”

In medieval Europe, left-handedness was thought to have ties to witchcraft and, for some religious groups, demonic possession. These suspicions lingered for centuries — even into the early 1900s, left-handed schoolchildren in the U.S. and Europe were retrained to use their right hand instead.

These perceptions didn’t shift in any major way until the mid-20th century. Time magazine suggests one notable turning point came in 1968 with the opening of London’s  Anything Left Handed store, which celebrates southpaws rather than condemning them.

By the 1970s, more manufacturers were producing products specifically for lefties, and by the end of the decade, the number of people publicly embracing their preferred hand had risen from 2% in 1939 to approximately 12% in 1979.

Only 10% of the World’s Population Is Left-Handed

Only about one in 10 people worldwide are left-handed — or at least that’s the most accurate estimate the latest data can offer. As it turns out, pinning down an exact number is trickier than you might think. 

Some people write with their left hand but throw a ball with their right. Others, thanks to the aforementioned long-held misconceptions and stigmas, were flat-out forced into right-handedness as children, even if they innately favored their left hand.

Despite the margin of error, this 10% statistic has held up across time and cultures spanning more than 10,000 years. Modern tools, various teaching methods, and shifting social norms have all seemed to have negligible effects on this ratio, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. 

Genetics Are Partially Responsible

Left-handedness tends to run in families, but it’s not as straightforward as, say, eye color or blood type. Instead, it’s likely influenced by a combination of genetic, prenatal, and possibly even environmental factors. 

Research has identified rare genetic variants, particularly in a gene called TUBB4B, that appear 2.7 times more often in left-handed people than in right-handed people. Other studies suggest a left-handed preference may be detected in the womb as early as 10 weeks into pregnancy based on thumb-sucking activities. 

Handedness also appears to have an environmental component. In a 2019 U.K. study of more than 500,000 participants, the percentage of people identifying as left-handed increased steadily among those born each year starting from around 1920 until roughly 1970, when it leveled off. But this wasn’t simply because more left-handed people began to be born; instead, it was likely due to a decline in the social pressure to switch hands.

The study also suggested that low birth weight and being part of a multiple birth seems to increase the chance of left-handedness. Further research suggests seasonal hormone levels or exposure to infections may even make women born in the summer more likely to be lefties, but the exact reasons for these correlations remain murky and there are likely still other undiscovered factors as well.

Men Are More Likely To Be Southpaws

One pattern that consistently shows up in handedness studies is that men are more likely to be left-handed than women. The gap isn’t huge: about 12% of men versus roughly 10% of women prefer their left hand. Given the low number of lefties overall, though, it is statistically significant, and scientists still aren’t entirely sure why this is the case. One theory suggests hormones — specifically, higher levels of prenatal testosterone — may play a role. 

Even Animals Can Be “Left-Handed”

Favoring one’s left or right side isn’t solely relegated to humans; plenty of animals show their own versions of “handedness.” Kangaroos often prefer their left hand for grooming and feeding, and even tiny creatures such as bees can display side biases when navigating around objects. 

Dogs, too, will favor a paw, and there’s a way to test it beyond a paw shake: It’s called the Kong test. Give your dog a food-stuffed Kong or other treat-dispensing toy and watch which paw they use to hold it in place while eating. If they consistently favor one paw, that’s likely their dominant side. 

Some dogs may use both paws equally, but many demonstrate a clear preference. One study found that, among dogs that showed a clear paw preference, about 58% were right-pawed and 42% were left-pawed, making “left-handedness” much more common in dogs than in humans.

Lefties Have an Edge in Certain Sports

Despite most sports gear being designed for right-handed players, lefties often hold a surprising advantage, especially in fast-paced competitive sports such as tennis, baseball, boxing, and fencing, in which an opponent’s reaction time is lower. 

Because southpaws are relatively rare, right-handed athletes don’t get as much practice facing them, whereas lefties spend their whole lives playing against righties. This creates an element of unpredictability for righties when facing a lefty: The latter’s movements, angles, and timing can feel unfamiliar to their opponents. 

In baseball, for example, left-handed pitchers are especially prized for their ability to throw off a batter’s rhythm. While left-handedness doesn’t necessarily guarantee athletic success, the list of elite athletes who’ve been left-handed is undeniably impressive: LeBron James, for example, is naturally left-handed but shoots basketballs with his right. Babe Ruth and Wayne Gretzky, two of the greatest athletes of all time in their respective sports of baseball and hockey, also belong to this distinguished club.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Email

If you’ve ever found yourself tossing and turning in a hotel bed or on a friend’s futon, you aren’t alone. A study by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) determined 80% of travelers struggle to sleep when they’re away from home, and nearly half attribute this to being in an unfamiliar environment. 

There is, in fact, a scientific explanation for this widespread phenomenon. It’s called the “first-night effect” (FNE), and it’s something sleep scientists have been studying for decades. This natural reaction to being in a new place has become deeply ingrained in our brain’s architecture due to our evolutionary history. 

In recent years, scientists have uncovered more details about why the FNE occurs and, thankfully, given us tips to ease those sleepless nights away from home. Let’s dive in and look at the facts.

What Is the First-Night Effect?

Essentially, the brain doesn’t fully power down during the first night in a new environment, causing travelers to feel worn out the next day. Research shows one brain hemisphere, usually the left, remains more alert throughout the night, subtly monitoring our new environment for threats to keep us safe. The first-night effect has been well documented for decades, so much so that sleep scientists tend to throw out the first night’s data of any sleep study because of the way the effect skews results.

In 2016, researchers from Brown University explored this phenomenon by monitoring brain activity among participants in a sleep lab. During the first night, the left side of their brains reacted strongly to irregular beeping sounds, while the right side maintained a deeper sleep. By the second night, neither hemisphere responded strongly to the beeping, indicating a deeper sleep for both, with the left hemisphere’s initial wary response subsiding. 

Scientists suggest this is because the environment had become more familiar by the second night and therefore was perceived as less of a threat. The study concluded that “troubled sleep in an unfamiliar place is an act of survival.”

It’s Animal Instinct

The partial brain alertness seen in the first-night effect mirrors how animals remain vigilant in the wild, hinting that this phenomenon is an evolutionary adaptation for survival. Many animals have developed their own versions of this type of asymmetrical sleep to protect themselves from danger. Humans and some mammals exhibit bihemispheric slow-wave sleep (BSWS), wherein both hemispheres are technically asleep, but one side can remain more vigilant. 

However, other animals have evolved one step further. Some species, including whales, dolphins, fur seals, sea lions, and certain birds, exhibit unihemispheric slow-wave sleep (USWS), in which only one hemisphere is asleep at a time, giving them an even greater ability to perceive threats while asleep. This allows some animals, such as birds and dolphins, to literally “sleep with one eye open” to detect predators. 

While these animals rely on this strategy regularly, humans typically only make use of it during exposure to a new environment, reinforcing the idea that this is a deep-rooted instinct meant to protect us, not inconvenience us.

Beyond the First Night

While the first-night effect is most prominent during your first shuteye away from home, research suggests it may extend beyond a single evening. For some travelers, it can cause interrupted sleep for several days, negatively affecting mood and energy levels during a trip as a result. One culprit of this extended FNE could be its impact on rapid eye movement sleep (REM), a crucial phase of the sleep cycle linked to memory and emotional regulation.

In one sleep study, researchers recorded the impacts of REM while participants slept in a new environment for several nights. Results showed the FNE’s impacts on REM sleep extended up to the fourth night.

According to Harvard Medical School, “REM sleep is so important that if you don’t get enough one night, your body will naturally increase it the next — you’ll enter this stage earlier and stay in it for longer. This is known as REM rebound.” Basically, if the FNE wreaks havoc on your REM cycle one night, it can cause further disruptions in your sleep cycle, resulting in a ripple effect and many subsequent sleepless nights.

How To Minimize the First-Night Effect

As Rebecca Robbins, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told National Geographic, “The truth is that when we are in an unfamiliar environment, we fundamentally have a harder time unwinding.” Robbins, a leading researcher in circadian health, is working to identify behavioral changes to help patients improve sleep. But regardless of the FNE’s impacts and longevity, there are some ways to make your brain settle down and rest more deeply while in a new place. 

The trick is to minimize the effect by introducing comforting and familiar sensory cues that signal to your brain you’re in a safe environment. Simple steps such as bringing your own pillow, using a familiar body lotion or essential oil, or playing calming music or a noise machine can create a sense of safety. These small comforts of home may be just enough to trick your brain into thinking you’re not in a foreign place, allowing you to sleep more soundly and, hopefully, feel more rested during your travels.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Email

Each year, millions of readers pick up a copy of the Farmers’ Almanac or The Old Farmer’s Almanac hoping for a glimpse into the future — specifically, what the next year of weather might look like. These almanacs have become staples of rural Americana, sought out not only for their forecasts but also for their folksy wisdom. But how do they actually come up with their well-known weather predictions? Let’s dive in and find out.

What Is an Almanac?

An almanac is, essentially, a calendar, usually containing information on tides, the weather, and when the sun and moon rise and set. They’ve been around in various forms since about the 12th century, when ancient Babylonian astronomers tracked and predicted planetary activity. 

Almanacs were especially handy in agrarian societies, helping farmers plan around the weather. In 1792, Robert B. Thomas founded The Old Farmer’s Almanac. The Farmers’ Almanac, a separate publication, was first released in 1818. While both include gardening advice, home remedies, astronomical events, recipes, and more, the guides are in fact competitors — and both claim to use time-tested secret methods for forecasting the weather for broad zones across the United States and Canada.

Their Methods Are Secret

The Old Farmer’s Almanac bases its weather forecasts on a formula originally devised by Thomas himself, using a combination of solar activity, climatology (the study of weather patterns), and meteorology (the study of the atmosphere). 

It also consults large, long-term weather patterns called teleconnections, the most famous of which are El Niño and La Niña, and looks for patterns in how weather has behaved under similar conditions over a 30-year average. The almanac’s formula, it says, has been refined to incorporate technology and modern science over the years, but has otherwise stayed true to Thomas’ original formulation. 

The Farmers’ Almanac, meanwhile, makes weather forecasts based on a formula originally developed in 1818 by founding editor David Young; it relies mainly on changes in the sun’s activity and the moon’s movement, along with tidal patterns and high-altitude winds near the equator. It also uses comparisons to past weather patterns. 

Sandi Duncan, an editor at the Farmers’ Almanac, says the forecast is prepared nearly a year ahead of time using a time-intensive manual process. While computers are used to type and organize the information, the core formula still relies heavily on human calculation and input. A mysterious forecaster known only by the pseudonym Caleb Weatherbee serves as the in-house weather prognosticator. His true identity, says the publication, is kept secret in order to protect the proprietary prediction formula. 

If this all sounds rather vague, that’s because it is. Both almanacs are tight-lipped about the specifics of their weather prediction systems; The Old Farmer’s Almanac has even claimed to keep their formula locked in a black box at the company’s Dublin, New Hampshire headquarters. Both The Old Farmer’s Almanac and the Farmers’ Almanac claim their predictions are accurate about 80% of the time. But most of us know even short-range weather forecasts can be unreliable, so is that success rate really possible?

How Almanacs Compare to Modern Meteorology

Almanacs certainly share something in common with modern meteorology — a desire to understand weather patterns and make that information useful for the general public. But a widely cited University of Illinois study estimated the two main almanacs’ accuracy at only about 50%. One reason for this is the vague, generalized nature of the predictions. Rather than precise data, the almanacs tend to offer broad descriptions such as “warm and dry,” “unsettled,” or “average rainfall.” Their forecasts also cover large and geographically diverse areas (such as the Great Lakes and the Midwest) together as one zone.

Modern meteorologists, by comparison, feed real-time data from satellites, ground radar, aircraft, and ocean buoys into complex computer models that simulate how the atmosphere will evolve and how heat, moisture, and pressure move across the planet. These models often develop much more accurate short-term predictions: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found that five-day forecasts made from its data produce accurate predictions about 90% of the time, and even seven-day forecasts were found to be accurate about 80% of the time.

Even the best forecasts, however, grow fuzzier beyond a week: According to the NOAA, 10-day forecasts are only right about half the time, as the atmosphere changes too much to accurately gather information that far ahead of time. The NOAA’s National Weather Service does produce 90-day seasonal outlooks but admits these are vague thanks to the atmosphere’s complexities.

The almanacs’ reliance on historical patterns may also mean a growing mismatch with reality: As climate change disrupts established trends and introduces unprecedented weather events that past data can’t account for, statistical models become increasingly unreliable. Today, this leaves the farmers’ almanacs somewhere between folklore and forecasting, and their value lies more in tradition than precision.