The World’s First Webcam Monitored Coffee

The world’s first webcam was invented purely to save researchers a walk. Scientists at Cambridge created a live video feed to monitor a coffee pot from their desks, ensuring they never wasted a trip to an empty carafe.

Long before video calls existed, staff at the Computer Laboratory grew frustrated by walking to the break room only to find the pot empty. They rigged a camera to capture a grayscale image of the machine, which then displayed on their local computer network. This quirky invention eventually broadcast to the early internet, turning a mundane office chore into a global digital sensation. It remains a legendary piece of tech history that humanized the early web.