Router

Hello. I am a router. I am a friendly little box with happy, blinking lights. My lights blink green and blue, like little stars. My super important job is to help messages travel all around the world. I help pictures and songs zip and zoom from one place to another. Before I was here, all the computers were like little islands. They were all alone and could not talk to each other. It was very quiet, and they could not share their fun stories or games. I was so excited to help them become friends.

Then, a long time ago, a very smart man named Bill Yeager had a wonderful idea. It was the year 1980. Bill worked with lots and lots of computers. He saw that they all spoke different 'languages'. One computer would say 'beep', and another would say 'boop'. They could not understand each other. It was like trying to share a toy when you can't talk. So, Bill decided to invent me. He thought, 'I will make a traffic helper for the computers'. My job was to show all the messages the right way to go. I became a super-fast mail carrier, making sure every 'beep' and 'boop' got to the right place very, very fast.

Because of Bill's smart idea, I could help all the computers become friends. Yay. Now they can share everything. They can share fun games, silly pictures, and happy songs. My work helps you do so many things. When you watch your favorite cartoons on a tablet, that's me helping. When you see your grandparents on a video call and wave hello, I am there, sending your wave across the world. My blinking lights are like little winks. They say, 'I'm busy connecting you to a world full of fun and friends'.