Quiz of the Day
World Wide Web Day
Saturday, 1 August 2026
On August 1, 1991, Tim Berners-Lee opened the World Wide Web to the public — explore the history and science of the internet
1. Who is credited with inventing the World Wide Web?
- Bill Gates
- Vint Cerf
- Tim Berners-Lee
- Steve Jobs
Tim Berners-Lee proposed the World Wide Web in 1989 while working at CERN in Switzerland. He never patented his invention, deliberately keeping it free so anyone could use and build upon it — a decision that changed the world.
2. What does 'HTTP' stand for?
- High Transfer Text Protocol
- HyperText Transfer Protocol
- Hosted Text Transfer Platform
- HyperText Transmission Process
HTTP is the foundation of data communication on the Web. When you see HTTPS, the 'S' stands for 'Secure,' meaning the connection is encrypted using SSL/TLS, protecting your data from eavesdroppers.
3. What was the name of the first web browser ever created?
- Internet Explorer
- WorldWideWeb
- Netscape
- Mosaic
The first browser, called 'WorldWideWeb' (later renamed Nexus), was built by Tim Berners-Lee himself in 1990. It was both a browser and a web page editor, running only on NeXT computers — a remarkably advanced machine for its time.
4. In which year did Google launch its search engine?
- 1998
- 1997
- 2000
- 1996
Google was officially incorporated on September 4, 1998. Its founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, originally called their search engine 'Backrub' before renaming it Google — a play on the mathematical term 'googol,' representing 10 to the power of 100.
5. What does 'URL' stand for?
- Unified Resource Link
- Universal Reference Link
- Uniform Resource Locator
- Universal Resource Locator
Tim Berners-Lee invented URLs as part of his web system. The first URL in history was 'http://info.cern.ch,' pointing to the world's first website — a page about the World Wide Web project itself, hosted on Berners-Lee's NeXT computer at CERN.
6. Which country has the world's highest internet penetration rate as of the mid-2020s?
- United Arab Emirates
- Japan
- Iceland
- South Korea
Iceland consistently ranks among the top countries globally for internet penetration, often exceeding 99% of the population. The country's high literacy rate, strong infrastructure investment, and small, tech-savvy population all contribute to this remarkable figure.
7. What was the first item ever sold on eBay?
- A Pokemon trading card
- A broken laser pointer
- A used laptop
- A baseball card
In 1995, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar listed a broken laser pointer to test his auction site. He expected no bids, but it sold for $14.83. When he contacted the buyer to confirm it was broken, the buyer replied: 'I'm a collector of broken laser pointers.' The internet marketplace was born.
8. What does 'Wi-Fi' actually stand for?
- It doesn't stand for anything
- Wireless Fidelity
- Wide Frequency
- Wireless Fiber
Despite widespread belief, 'Wi-Fi' is not an acronym at all. The Wi-Fi Alliance hired a marketing firm that invented the name as a catchy brand — it was a play on 'Hi-Fi' (High Fidelity). The Alliance later retroactively suggested 'Wireless Fidelity' but has since admitted the term means nothing official.
9. In what year did Facebook reach one billion monthly active users?
- 2010
- 2011
- 2013
- 2012
Facebook hit one billion monthly active users in October 2012, just eight years after its launch from a Harvard dorm room. Mark Zuckerberg announced the milestone with a post, calling it 'a pretty good day.' The platform now connects over three billion people worldwide.
10. Which organization technically oversees the technical standards of the World Wide Web?
- IETF
- IEEE
- ICANN
- W3C
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), founded by Tim Berners-Lee in 1994, develops and maintains web standards like HTML and CSS. Berners-Lee still leads the organization, ensuring the Web remains open and accessible — living proof of his original idealistic vision.
11. What was the name of the first commercial web browser that popularized internet use in the 1990s?
- Mosaic Communicator
- Opera
- Netscape Navigator
- Internet Explorer
Netscape Navigator launched in 1994 and quickly captured over 90% of the browser market. It introduced JavaScript to the web, changed everything about online interactivity. Microsoft's subsequent 'Browser Wars' eventually killed Netscape, but its open-source codebase lived on to become Mozilla Firefox.
12. Approximately how many websites exist on the internet today?
- 1.9 billion
- 500 million
- 2 billion
- 50 million
While there are roughly 1.9 billion registered websites, only about 200 million are actively maintained and updated. The rest are dormant, parked domains, or abandoned projects. The very first website, info.cern.ch, is still live and accessible to this day.
13. What is the main purpose of the Domain Name System (DNS)?
- To encrypt web traffic
- To translate domain names into IP addresses
- To manage email routing
- To store website files
DNS is often called the 'phone book of the internet.' When you type 'google.com,' DNS converts it into a numeric IP address like 142.250.80.46 that computers actually use to connect. Without DNS, you'd need to memorize number strings instead of names.
14. Which country built the world's first national internet, providing government-controlled access to its citizens?
- China
- North Korea
- Iran
- Russia
North Korea operates 'Kwangmyong,' a national intranet available to select citizens that has no connection to the global internet. It contains state-approved content, email, and basic services. Only a tiny elite — estimated at a few thousand people — can access the actual World Wide Web.
15. What color is the Twitter (now X) bird logo's original iconic shade?
- Sky blue
- Cobalt blue
- Cornflower blue
- Cyan
The original Twitter bird, named 'Larry' after NBA legend Larry Bird, was a specific shade called 'Twitter Blue' — officially closest to cornflower blue. When Elon Musk rebranded Twitter to 'X' in 2023, the beloved bird logo was retired almost overnight, ending a 17-year icon of internet culture.