Reviewed by Omotolani Ajileye
What would you do if I handed you a wooden computer mouse? Or told you that one of the world’s first webcams was created to check a coffee pot? What if we said that artificial intelligence can now help a robot explore the surface of Mars?
Technology can sometimes feel like something that has always existed. We have smartphones, tablets, computers, video games, smart TVs and countless apps around us every day, but surprisingly, many of the technologies we now take for granted started in simple and maybe funny ways.
Welcome to the final Fun Fact Friday of Geeky Nigeria’s Children’s Special 2026. Hurrayyyy!!!
This week’s theme is Digital Kids, so let us take a quick journey through the fascinating world of technology and discover three real facts that might make you look at your gadgets differently.
Ready? You’d better be!
Did You Know? The First Computer Mouse Was Made of Wood!
Take a look at the computer mouse in front of you. It probably has a smooth plastic body, buttons and perhaps even a light underneath it.
The very first computer mouse looked nothing like that. The prototype created by engineer Bill English at the Stanford Research Institute around 1964 was made from wood. It used mechanical wheels to detect movement and had space for just one button. The device was part of the pioneering computer work led by Douglas Engelbart.
So why was it called a “mouse”? The name came from its appearance and the cord that came out of the back, which reminded people of a small mouse with a tail. Isn’t that fascinating?
Today’s computer mice are much more advanced, but the basic idea remains familiar: you move the mouse, and the computer follows that movement on the screen. It is interesting to think about how technology changes over time: a device that began as a small…
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Read Full Article by Apara Olalekan Akintunji at geeky.com.ng
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