[Excaliber]

How the internet really started...

An old, bearded shepherd with a crooked staff walked up to a stone pulpit and said, 'And lo, it came to pass that the trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot. And Dot Com was a homely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. She had been called Amazon Dot Com'. And she said unto Abraham, her husband, 'Why doth thou travel far, from town to town with thy goods when thou can trade without ever leaving thy tent?' And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, 'How, Dear?' And Dot replied, 'I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale and they will reply telling you which hath the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS).' Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had, at the top price, without ever moving from his tent. But this success did arouse envy. A man named Maccabia did secret himself inside Abraham's drum, and was accused of insider trading. And the young man did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Siderites, or NERDS for short. And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums, that no one noticed that the real riches were going to the drum maker, one Brother William of Gates, who bought up every drum company in the land. And indeed did insist on making drums that would work only if you bought Brother Gates' drumsticks. And Dot did say, 'Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others'. 'And as Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or as it came to be known 'eBay,' he said, 'we need a name that reflects what we are,' and Dot replied, 'Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators.' 'Whoopee!', said Abraham. 'No, YAHOO!' said Dot Com. And that is how it all began.