September 28, 2019

I’m Obsessed With This 1994 Today Show Clip About “Internet”

“That little mark, with the ‘A’, and then the ring around it.”

Today Show

Today Show

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It’s a lazy Saturday so let’s talk about this bonkers Today Show clip from 1994:

Where to start?

  1. Bryan Gumbel asking: “What is internet, anyway?”
  2. Katie Couric—if we can trust Gumbel, and maybe we can’t—thinking the “@” sign means either “about” or “around.” Katie, what the hell!
  3. Gumbel describing the “@” as “that little mark, with the ‘A’, and then the ring around it.”
  4. Gumbel very passive aggressively dismissing the female producer for not being able to explain anything in “ten seconds.”
  5. “I’ve never heard it said, I’ve only seen the mark!”
  6. “GE–com.” No “dot.” That’s a whole other argument for sure.

In all seriousness, Gumbel sounds genuinely upset about the existence of the internet. Maybe he knew then where all this was headed. Maybe he should have warned us.

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