Rabbithole42.blog
Rabbit hole 42 - Blog of Never Ending Rabbit Hole Problems around the Web.
a Gor.bio project.
Since Aug 4th 2024
Let's dive into the strange saga of Jennifer Ringley and JenniCam—a pioneering yet obscure chapter in early internet history that, for better or worse, helped lay the groundwork for the live-streaming culture we know today.
Alright, let’s take a journey into the murky depths of early internet history, a time when the web was still wild, and the rules of engagement were being written on the fly. We're talking about "The Great ASCII Art Wars" of the late 1990s—a battle fought not with swords or guns, but with keyboards and creativity.
Before Facebook, Twitter, and even MySpace, there was AOL—America Online, the gateway to the internet for millions of people in the 1990s. At its peak, AOL was synonymous with the internet itself, with its famous "You've Got Mail" notification becoming a cultural icon. But as the web evolved, so did the preferences of its users, leading to one of the most fascinating and lesser-known moments in early internet history: the "Great AOL Exodus."
In June 2015, a YouTuber known as Obscure Horror Corner (OHC) uploaded a series of videos showcasing a game they claimed to have found on the deep web. The game was called "Sad Satan." It wasn’t a traditional game by any means—there were no clear objectives, no story, and certainly no fun to be had. Instead, the game consisted of disturbing imagery, strange sounds, and a nightmarish atmosphere that made players feel as if they were descending into some digital abyss.
Back in 2001, the internet was still in its wild west days—a time of Geocities, weird flash games, and endless forums. In the midst of this chaos, a strange and heartwarming internet movement arose to save an endangered rodent: the Great Hamster of Alsace (Cricetus cricetus), a species native to France. Known as the "Grand Hamster" in French, this critter is actually a European hamster, but its story captured the imaginations of many under the quirky banner of "The Great Hamster of Bourges."
