Tech tends to have a reputation for being overly serious, packed with complicated code, incomprehensible jargon, high-end innovations and world-shaping breakthroughs. But behind the all the screens and server rooms, there’s a lighter side full of quirky stories and unexpected gems. We’ve rounded up some of our favourite tech story’s that are bound to give you a smile.

Here's our list of ten of the most surprising, strange and downright weird IT facts to brighten your day.

1. The First Computer Mouse Was Made of Wood

Before sleek, ergonomic designs made from cheap and cheerful plastic, back in 1964, the very first computer mouse was made out of wood. It had just one button and looked more like a tiny wooden box than anything you'd recognise today.

It worked by detecting movement using two wheels mounted at 90 degrees to each other. It was a huge step forward at the time, even if it looked more like something you'd find in a toolbox than on a desk.

2. Email Is Older Than the World Wide Web

It may seem intuitive to think the web came first, but email has actually been around since the early 1970s. The first major breakthrough came in 1971 when computer engineer Ray Tomlinson sent the first electronic mail between two machines side by side. The World Wide Web wouldn’t be around for another 18 years although precursors were being developed and used by researchers from the 70s onwords.

3. One Google Search Uses More Power Than You Might Think

A quick Google search might feel like the most lightweight thing you can do online, but it’s hiding a lot behind-the-scenes. Each search uses around 0.3 watt-hours of electricity, the same as switching on a standard lightbulb for about 17 seconds. When you consider the 8.5 billion searches that are made every day, it adds up to a large chunk of the global energy consumption.

4. The First 1GB Hard Drive Weighed Over 200kg

Today, we’re used to tiny USB sticks with terabytes of storage, but it wasn’t always that convenient. Back in 1980, IBM unveiled the first 1GB hard drive, and it looked a lot like a large fridge. Weighing 227kg, it was so big that it required specialist equipment just to move. Storage has come a long way since then, shrinking in size while growing even more in its capacity.

5. CAPTCHA Tests Stop More Than Just Bots

We’re all familiar with that annoying “I’m not a robot” test where you’re asked to click every box with a zebra crossing, but CAPTCHA tests can do more than just check if you're human. Early versions of the CAPTCHA test were used to help digitise books; When a book was scanned for digitisation, any words that were to challenging for a computer program to decipher would be automatically served up to people in CAPTCHA tests, if enough people wrote the same word, the computer system would know what the text was meant to say. It was a clever way to crowdsource work while also improving online security.

6. The First Website Is Still Online

The very first website ever built is still up and running today. Created by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, it was launched on 6 August 1991. The site served as a basic guide to the World Wide Web project and how people could set up their own web pages. It’s a far cry from today’s modern websites, but it laid the groundwork for everything that came after.

7. There’s a Secret Meaning Behind Wi-Fi

Many people think Wi-Fi is short for “Wireless Fidelity” but it turns out that’s actually a myth; Wi-Fi doesn’t stand for anything at all. It was a made-up term coined by a marketing firm in the late 90s to help promote what was then known as IEEE 802.11b. The name was chosen to evoke a sense of high quality, like the then common audio term "Hi-Fi"; And it caught on.

8. Tech Companies Once Paid Hackers in T-Shirts

Before bug bounty programmes offered real cash rewards, ethical hackers who reported vulnerabilities often just got a thank you and some branded swag. In the early 2000s, big-name tech companies like Google and Facebook handed out T-shirts and stickers to hackers who helped spot bugs in their systems. Times might have changed, but those early days helped to build a culture of responsible hacking that still exists today.

9. The Password "123456" Is Still Shockingly Popular

Despite countless security breaches and endless advice from IT professionals, millions of people continue to use weak passwords like "123456". It consistently tops the charts of the most commonly leaked passwords, followed closely by others like “password” and “qwerty”. Whilst this doesn’t mean they’re the most common passwords, it definitely goes to show they’re still popular and verry guessable.

10. Computers Used to Need Entire Rooms

These days, you’ve got more computing power in your pocket than NASA had for the entire moon landings, but back in the 1940s and 50s, a single computer could fill an entire room. Machines like the ENIAC took up hundreds of square feet and used massive amounts of electricity. They had thousands of vacuum tubes and required teams of engineers to keep them running. Compared to the devices we use today, they were massive, slow and very expensive.

Let’s Make IT More Interesting

IT doesn’t have to be dull, and at Edmondson’s we believe a bit of curiosity goes a long way. Whether you’re upgrading your hardware, improving security or just want to understand your setup a bit better, we’re here to make IT easy and even enjoyable.

If you’d like to chat about your setup, or learn more about how Edmondson’s can support your business, just give us a call on 01924 666 660 or drop us a quick message here.