internet museum by dharun
an interactive museum preserving internet history, culture, and the moments that shaped how we live online. from the dancing baby to ai agents, from geocities to tiktok, this is where internet culture lives forever.
curatorial approach: exhibits selected for cultural impact, technical significance, or pure nostalgia value. organized into thematic "wings" inspired by neal.fun's internet artifacts and the internet hall of fame.
web 1.0 nostalgia
18 exhibits
meme hall of fame
24 exhibits
gaming culture
12 exhibits
social media evolution
15 exhibits
viral moments
20 exhibits
tech milestones
16 exhibits
indian internet culture
16 exhibits
language web 1.0 nostalgia wing
the early days when every site had under construction gifs, tiled backgrounds, and visitor counters. geocities, neopets, and the chaotic beauty of amateur web design.
the first website
tim berners-lee publishes the first website at cern on august 6, explaining the world wide web project.
dancing baby
one of the first viral internet memes. a 3d-rendered baby dancing. shared via email chains and early forums before youtube existed.
"this low-poly baby defined what it meant to go viral"
space jam website
promotional site for the movie space jam. still live today at the original url. a perfectly preserved time capsule of 90s web design with tables, image maps, and autoplaying midi.
under construction gif
the iconic animated gif with construction worker. every geocities page had one. websites were always "under construction."
the hampster dance
one of the earliest examples of an internet phenomenon. hundreds of animated hamsters dancing to a sped-up version of "whistle stop."
geocities at its peak
geocities gave the internet to the people. 25,000 pages in first half of decade. by 2009 shutdown, 38 million pages existed. organized by "neighborhoods."
neopets launches
virtual pet website that defined childhoods. at peak, 25 million users. flash games, html editing, fake economy. pure early-2000s internet magic.
all your base
flash animation based on poor english translation from sega game zero wing. "all your base are belong to us" became first internet catchphrase.
"somebody set up us the bomb"
homestarrunner.com
flash animation series that defined early 2000s internet humor. strong bad emails, trogdor the burninator, teen girl squad.
newgrounds at peak
flash animation and game portal. where internet creators learned animation, game development, and how to dodge school content filters.
ebaumsworld controversies
content aggregator known for viral videos and watermarking other people's content. defined early internet content wars.
ytmnd: you're the man now dog
site for creating pages combining an image, text, and looping sound. bizarre humor. incredibly specific memes. "punch the keys for god's sake!"
sentiment_satisfied meme hall of fame
from image macros to tiktok sounds, these are the moments that made the internet laugh, cry, and share billions of times.
lolcats & i can has cheezburger
cats + impact font = internet gold. i can has cheezburger launched in 2007, but lolcat format started on 4chan in 2005.
"i can has cheezburger?"
rickrolling / never gonna give you up
rick astley's 1987 song becomes ultimate bait-and-switch. you think you're clicking one link, but SURPRISE - rick astley.
rage comics
simple 4-panel comics with faces like "troll face," "forever alone," "y u no." defined 2008-2012 internet humor.
philosoraptor
velociraptor thinking deeply about silly philosophical questions. "if you expect the unexpected, is the unexpected now expected?"
nyan cat
pop-tart cat flying through space leaving a rainbow trail. 10-hour youtube video. still stuck in your head.
gangnam style breaks youtube
psy's music video becomes first to hit 1 billion views. actually broke youtube's view counter (previously maxed at 2,147,483,647).
overly attached girlfriend
laina morris's parody video spawned thousands of memes. wide-eyed stare became iconic.
doge
shiba inu with comic sans captions. "such wow. very meme. much amaze." originated from 2010 photo, went viral 2013, became cryptocurrency.
the dress: blue/black or white/gold
photo of a dress breaks the internet. people literally saw different colors. optical illusion divided humanity.
john cena meme
unexpected john cena appearances with "AND HIS NAME IS JOHN CENA" and trumpet sounds. perfect jump scare format.
harambe
gorilla shot at cincinnati zoo. internet mourned, memed, and never forgot. "dicks out for harambe."
evil kermit
kermit talking to dark-hooded version of himself. "me to me" format perfect for expressing internal conflict.
stock photo becomes meme format. boyfriend looking at another woman while girlfriend looks disgusted. perfect comparison template.
big chungus
enlarged bugs bunny from 1941 cartoon becomes inexplicable meme. pure absurdist humor.
woman yelling at cat
taylor armstrong crying and pointing + confused cat at dinner table. versatile comparison meme.
bernie sanders mittens
bernie at biden's inauguration. sitting with folded arms, wearing mittens. photoshopped everywhere. pure wholesome content.
demure / mindful / cutesy
jools lebron's workplace makeup video goes viral. "very demure, very mindful, very cutesy." coined summer 2024 catchphrase.
sports_esports gaming culture wing
from minecraft to among us, these games shaped internet culture and how we play together online.
minecraft launches
markus persson releases minecraft alpha. becomes best-selling game ever. defines creative gaming for generation.
twitch launches
justin.tv gaming spinoff becomes phenomenon. streamers become celebrities. "pogchamp" enters vocabulary.
flappy bird phenomenon
frustratingly difficult mobile game goes viral. creator removes it from stores at peak popularity. caused actual rage.
fortnite battle royale
free-to-play battle royale with building mechanics. dances become global phenomenon. changed gaming business model.
among us released
social deduction game released 2018, exploded 2020 during pandemic. "sus" enters mainstream vocabulary.
among us pandemic explosion
2018 game becomes biggest game of 2020. streamers play it, everyone plays it. emergency meetings replace real meetings.
"red is sus"
pokemon go launches
augmented reality pokemon game. people actually go outside. walk into things. trespass. community days in parks worldwide.
baldur's gate 3 phenomenon
larian studios proves single-player rpgs not dead. raises bar for entire industry. romance with bear goes viral.
local_fire_department viral moments hall
the moments that stopped the internet. when everyone was watching, talking about, and sharing the same thing.
felix baumgartner space jump
red bull stratos. jumps from edge of space. breaks sound barrier in freefall. 8 million watch live on youtube.
the harlem shake
baauer's song spawns video trend. one person dances, then suddenly everyone. thousands of variations in weeks.
ice bucket challenge
als awareness campaign goes mega-viral. celebrities, politicians, everyone. actually raised $115 million for research.
yanny or laurel
audio clip divides internet. people hear different words. like the dress but for ears.
dreams / ocean spray skateboard
nathan apodaca (@420doggface208) skateboards to work while drinking ocean spray and vibing to fleetwood mac's dreams. pure mood.
gamestop / wallstreetbets
reddit vs hedge funds. r/wallstreetbets coordinates to squeeze short sellers. actual market impact. "diamond hands" and "to the moon."
ship stuck in suez canal
ever given blocks suez canal for 6 days. memes about one stuck boat halting global trade. tiny excavator becomes hero.
will smith oscars slap
"keep my wife's name out your mouth." will smith slaps chris rock on live tv. becomes instant meme format.
submarine girl / tube girl
sabrina bahsoon dancing on london tube goes viral. confident joy in public transport. spawns trend.
hawk tuah girl
street interview becomes phenomenon. simple phrase breaks internet. demonstrates power of authenticity and timing.
bolt tech milestones wing
the technical innovations that made everything possible. infrastructure, platforms, and paradigm shifts.
gmail launches
google announces gmail on april 1 (people think it's joke). 1gb storage when competitors offered 2-4mb. invitation-only creates demand.
iphone unveiling
steve jobs: "an ipod, a phone, and an internet communicator." mobile internet begins. computing becomes personal.
github launches
tom, chris, and pj create github. git + social features = open source revolution. collaboration transforms.
bitcoin whitepaper
satoshi nakamoto introduces bitcoin. "peer-to-peer electronic cash system." blockchain becomes real. crypto era begins.
instagram filters change photography
mobile photography becomes art. everyone becomes photographer. aesthetic accessibility democratizes visual culture.
let's encrypt launches
free ssl certificates for everyone. https becomes standard instead of luxury. mozilla, eff, cisco sponsor. web becomes secure.
alphago defeats lee sedol
deepmind's alphago beats world champion at go 4-1. ai enters public consciousness. machines master intuition.
chatgpt launches
openai releases chatgpt november 30. reaches 100 million users in 2 months. ai becomes conversational. changes everything.
generative ai explosion
midjourney, stable diffusion, claude, llama, dall-e 3. text-to-image, text-to-video. creative work transforms overnight.
sora text-to-video
openai previews sora. text prompts generate realistic 60-second videos. video generation becomes real.
ai agents become real
autonomous ai agents handle complex multi-step tasks. software development enters new era. humans direct, ai executes.
flag indian internet culture wing
from jio revolution to desi memes, how india shaped its own unique internet culture with 450+ million users and counting.
flipkart founded
sachin and binny bansal, iit delhi alumni, start online bookstore in bangalore. becomes india's e-commerce pioneer. walmart acquires for $16 billion in 2018.
ola cabs launches
bhavish agarwal and ankit bhati create india's ride-hailing platform. acquires taxiforsure for $200 million in 2015.
paytm begins
vijay shekhar sharma starts online recharge platform. becomes india's digital payments leader. symbol of cashless india.
jio revolution
reliance jio launches september 5 with free data. 100 million users in 170 days. india becomes world's top mobile data consumer. 4g for everyone.
"data became cheaper than water. internet reached every corner of india."
jio phone
world's most affordable 4g smartphone. brought 500 million feature phone users online. digital india accelerates.
desi meme culture emerges
indian meme pages explode on instagram and facebook. @theindianmemes, @rvcjinsta, @desihumor. bollywood templates, cricket memes, engineering college humor.
priya varrier wink
malayalam film "oru adaar love" teaser makes priya prakash varrier india's wink girl. 2-second clip breaks internet. instant national phenomenon.
ranu mondal railway station
ranu mondal singing "ek pyaar ka nagma hai" at railway station goes viral. overnight sensation. from railway platform to recording studio.
dhinchak pooja phenomenon
"selfie maine leli aaj" becomes anthem of irony. fearless confidence turns her into cultural phenomenon. love it or hate it, couldn't ignore it.
rasode mein kaun tha
yashraj mukhate remixes saas-bahu serial dialogue. "rasode mein kaun tha?" becomes national catchphrase. defined indian remix culture.
"ek minute. rasode mein kaun tha?"
tiktok ban in india
india bans tiktok and 58 chinese apps. 200 million indian users affected. instagram reels fills the void. shift in short-video landscape.
regional content explosion
tier 2 and tier 3 cities dominate content creation. punjabi, tamil, telugu, kannada, bengali creators go viral. india's linguistic diversity online.
desi vs videsi trend
comparison memes contrasting indian habits with western norms. hilariously exaggerated takes on desi life. relatability at peak.
india surpasses 900m internet users
internet penetration reaches 65%. rural connectivity triples since 2015. mobile-first nation. world's second-largest online population.
rcb wins championship
after 17-year drought, royal challengers bangalore wins title. internet melts. ee sala cup namde. cricket fandom at peak.
mahakumbh viral videos
mahakumbh mela becomes hotspot for viral content. celebrities at sangam. fake sadhu exposed. spiritual meets digital.
curator's note
this museum is a living document. as internet culture evolves, new exhibits are added. missing something important? these artifacts represent moments that shaped how we interact, create, and exist online.
preservation philosophy: inspired by neal.fun's internet artifacts, cameron's world, and the internet archive. focusing on cultural impact over comprehensiveness.
— dharun, 2025
smartphone social media evolution
how we went from myspace top 8 to tiktok algorithms. the platforms that changed how humans communicate.
myspace launches
customize your profile with html/css. music autoplays. top 8 friends causes drama. tom is everyone's first friend.
social network, customizationthefacebook.com launches
zuckerberg launches from harvard dorm. initially .edu only. the wall changes everything. becomes just "facebook."
social network, college, walltwitter's first tweet
jack dorsey: "just setting up my twttr". 140 characters. hashtags invented by users. @replies, retweets follow.
instagram launches
kevin systrom and mike krieger create photo app. filters make everyone photographer. acquired by facebook for $1 billion in 2012.
photos, filters, mobilesnapchat's disappearing messages
evan spiegel creates ephemeral messaging. photos disappear. stories format invented here, copied everywhere.
ephemeral, privacy, storiestiktok / douyin launches
bytedance creates douyin in china, tiktok internationally. merges with musical.ly 2018. algorithm supremacy. changes internet.
short video, algorithm, viraltiktok dance era
renegade, savage, say so. 14-year-old jalaiah harmon creates renegade. charli d'amelio makes it famous. dance trends define 2020.
dance, trends, creatorsthreads launches
meta creates twitter competitor. 100 million signups in days. federation via activitypub planned.
decentralization, competition