Flash Classics: KAAAAN!!!

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The first time I ever surfed the internet with a compete navigator, GUI-based interface (NetScape Beta v0.03b) instead of the text-based Lynx system used by fellow hackers computer enthusiasts, I didn't really see what the fuss was about. Sure, rather than typing "ATT=LFx (where x is the tab index for the link)" you could click on links with you mouse. There were images, tables, and, occasionally, bad MIDI music that would auto-load, but, overall, meh...

Then a friend emailed me (EchoNet at the time, natch) the IP for KHAAAAN!!!. At the time, DNS servers were unreliable beasts, often routing you to incorrect sites or throwing a 404 page cannot be displayed error, so you had to actually memorize the IP address for the host computer. The page that appeared was this. An animated gif of Captain Kirk screaming, "Khaan!" from the Star Trek film, "The Wrath of Khan".

I was struck. How could someone spend these incredible resources building a page that is a two-image GIF animation with a looping audio file? Then it struck: They did because creation and distribution of web-based content is essentially free. Here I was, sitting on my 386 (40mhz) in my room watching this animation created by someone out there in the ether. Why? Because the animation has a worldwide audience.

The KHAAAN! page since become a web classic. One of the first examples of a bit of content "going viral." I still occasionally look it up and relive that life-changing "Ah HA!" moment I had so many years ago.

This is a graph put together by flashman relating how many 'A's people generally search for when they are trying to find this historic clip. The evolution of the web continues to amaze and befuddle.