One of the earliest webcams in internet history reportedly had nothing to do with meetings, livestreaming, or security.

Back in the early 1990s, researchers at the University of Cambridge kept getting frustrated after repeatedly walking to the office coffee machine only to find the pot empty. Instead of continuing the wasted trips, a group of computer scientists came up with a surprisingly creative solution: they pointed a camera at the coffee pot and created a live video feed so everyone could check the coffee status from their computers.

The project became known as the “Trojan Room Coffee Pot,” and it’s now remembered as one of the internet’s first webcam experiments. At first, the system only worked internally within the university network, but it later became accessible online, turning a simple office convenience into a small piece of internet history.

What makes the story so funny to people today is how relatable the problem was. Technology that would eventually evolve into webcams, video calls, and modern streaming culture partly began because researchers were too tired of walking for empty coffee.

Sometimes major internet history starts with very small problems.