Do you remember… hit counters?

“You are visitor number 000347.” Somewhere near the bottom of the page, often in glowing digits styled like a car’s mileage counter, a little box kept score.

For most homepage owners, the hit counter was the only analytics they had, and plenty of them were gloriously easy to fool. On many, every refresh added one, so the most loyal visitor to a lot of homepages was the person who made it, popping back to see whether anyone had dropped by and nudging the number up while they were at it. Some people set theirs to start at a few thousand, to look established. Nobody was fooled, and nobody minded.

Reaching a round number felt like an occasion. Visitor 1,000 might earn a mention on the front page, or even a prize, if anyone could prove it was them.

This museum has a hit counter too. It’s a proper one, with real numbers, and it’s very pleased to meet you.