Pigeon-powered internet packet goes under the hammer at Christie's
25 years after taking flight, a surviving packet from the world's most impractical network has attracted a $4,000 bid
A piece of internet history, an IP packet from a 2001 experiment where Norwegian Linux enthusiasts used carrier pigeons to transmit data, is up for auction at Christie's. The packet, which was part of a joke proposed in RFC 1149 in 1990, actually worked with a 56% packet-loss rate, demonstrating the ability of IP packets to travel through the air without traditional infrastructure.
The 41mm by 210mm scroll, framed and with an inscription, is now being sold for an estimated $2,000 to $3,000, but has already fetched $4,000. The auction house describes the experiment as an example of the internet's tradition of "the artful hack," celebrating early community ingenuity and humor.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Register's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
