Do you remember… the dial-up modem sound?

First the dial tone, then the beeps of the number being dialled, then the noise. A screech, a hiss, a burst of static like a robot gargling gravel, and finally a soft rush of white noise that meant you were in. Nobody had to explain what it meant.

That racket was a handshake. Two modems were testing the phone line and working out how fast they could talk over a wire built for voices. On a good night, a 56k modem got somewhere near its promise. On a bad one, it tried, gave up and settled for less.

And because the internet used the phone line, the phone line was the internet. Somebody downstairs picking up the receiver to ring a friend could end your evening in one click. A whole generation learned to shout “I’m on the internet!” up the stairs, and a whole generation of parents learned to ignore it.