Level A2
The Coffee Pot That Became the First Webcam
Why the Whole Internet Watched a Pot of Coffee
In 1991, computer scientists at Cambridge University put a camera next to their coffee pot. Austin tells Olivia how the pot became famous on the internet.
↓ Download the printable PDFKey words
These words appear in the episode. In the transcript, hover over or tap a highlighted word to see what it means.
climbverb
To go up something, like stairs, a hill or a tree.
We climbed the hill behind the hotel to watch the sunset.
stairsnoun
Steps that take you from one floor of a building to another.
The lift was broken, so we carried the sofa up the stairs.
corridornoun
A long, narrow hall with doors to different rooms.
The toilets are at the end of the corridor, on the left.
emptyadjective
With nothing inside.
I opened the fridge, but it was empty, so we ordered a pizza.
tinyadjective
Very, very small.
My first flat had a tiny kitchen with space for only one person.
screennoun
The flat part of a computer, phone or TV that shows pictures and words.
My phone screen broke when I dropped it on the bus.
brokenadjective
Damaged, so it doesn't work anymore.
The washing machine is broken, so I'm going to the launderette.
leakverb
When water or another liquid comes out of a small hole by mistake.
My old water bottle leaks, so my bag is always wet.
plugnoun
The thing at the end of a cable that you put in the wall to get electricity.
The lamp doesn't work because the dog chewed the plug.
switchnoun
A small button that turns a light or a machine on or off. To switch something off means to turn it off.
The light switch is next to the door.
auctionnoun
A sale where people offer money and the biggest offer wins.
My aunt bought an old piano at an auction for fifty pounds.
repairverb
To fix something that is broken.
A man in the market repairs bicycles for a few euros.
Did you understand?
Choose the correct answer.
1. Why are some scientists in the lab unhappy in 1991?
2. How long do Quentin and Paul need to build the camera system?
3. What happens in November 1993?
4. What does the last picture from the camera show?
5. Where is the pot today?
Exercise 1
Odd one out
Which word doesn't belong? Think about why.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Exercise 2
Code breaker
Write the word from the list for each clue. The pink letters spell the name of a company in the story.
1. The last pot does this: water comes out of it.
2. It doesn't work anymore.
3. On eBay, people offer money, and the biggest offer wins.
4. Krups does this to the pot for free.
5. You climb these to go to another floor.
Which company is it?
Exercise 3
Your turn
What thing in your home or office needs a webcam? Write three or four sentences. Use at least two words from the list.
Your text is saved on this device.
The fridge at my office needs a webcam. It's at the end of a long corridor, and I always climb the stairs to get there. Very often my milk is gone and the fridge is empty. With a tiny picture on my screen, I could stay at my desk.
Full transcript
Show the transcript
Austin
Picture this. You three floors for a cup of coffee.
Olivia
Three floors. Okay, I'm tired, but I'm climbing.
Austin
You walk to the coffee pot, you pick it up, and it's .
Olivia
Again?
Austin
Again, every single day. And that empty pot starts the story of the first webcam.
Olivia
Wait. The first webcam was about coffee?
Austin
About coffee. Ten years later, somebody paid a lot of money for that pot. A pot.
Olivia
Who pays money for a broken coffee pot?
Austin
This is Aprendos English, level A2. I'm Austin.
Olivia
And I'm Olivia. Seriously, Austin, who?
Austin
Patience. First, England. Cambridge University, in 1991.
Olivia
Cambridge. So, very smart people.
Austin
Very smart, and very tired. They work in the computer lab, and one room there has a funny name. The Trojan Room.
Olivia
Like the Trojan horse? The big wooden horse with soldiers inside?
Austin
That's the one, but no soldiers. Only about fifteen computer scientists.
Olivia
And one coffee machine, I guess.
Austin
One machine for all of them, in the outside the room.
Olivia
The corridor, so the long hall between the rooms.
Austin
Right, the hall. And some people work on other floors of the building.
Olivia
So they climb the …
Austin
…they climb the stairs, they walk down the hall, and the pot is empty.
Olivia
Who drinks it all?
Austin
One of the scientists, Quentin, has an answer. He says the all-night hackers in the Trojan Room get there first.
Olivia
Hackers, so computer people who work all night…
Austin
…and drink all the coffee, yes.
Olivia
Poor people. Three floors for nothing.
Austin
I know this pain. At my first job in San Diego, the machine was next to my boss. I only got coffee when he was in a meeting.
Olivia
So you planned your coffee like a spy.
Austin
Like a spy. Today I just drink cold brew from a can.
Olivia
From a can? Austin, I'm worried about you.
Austin
It's fast! Okay, listeners, if you like true stories about very small things, subscribe. We have lots more like this one. So, what do the scientists do about the empty pot?
Olivia
Easy. They buy a second pot.
Austin
That's the normal answer. They do something much more fun.
Olivia
A rule, then. The last person makes new coffee.
Austin
Nope. They point a camera at the pot.
Olivia
A camera. In 1991.
Austin
In 1991. Two men build it, Quentin Stafford-Fraser and Paul Jardetzky.
Olivia
Those are big names for a coffee story.
Austin
They put a small camera on a metal stand next to the machine…
Olivia
…and it looks at the pot all day?
Austin
All day. Then they run the wires under the floor to a computer.
Olivia
And then?
Austin
Paul writes a program for that computer. It takes pictures of the pot every few seconds.
Olivia
And Quentin?
Austin
Quentin writes a second program for everybody's computer. A picture of the pot sits in the corner of your .
Olivia
Clever. So before the stairs, you check your screen…
Austin
…and you decide. Full pot, you go. Empty pot, you stay at your desk.
Olivia
How good is the picture?
Austin
Terrible. It's black and white, and very small.
Olivia
How small?
Austin
One hundred and twenty-eight dots across, and the same number down.
Olivia
Dots, so pixels. My phone has millions of them.
Austin
And the picture changes only about three times a minute.
Olivia
Three times a minute? That's so slow.
Austin
But coffee is slow too. A pot takes a few minutes to fill.
Olivia
Okay, fair.
Austin
Quentin made a joke about that. He wrote that the grey picture was fine, because the coffee was grey too.
Olivia
Grey coffee. So that's British coffee in 1991.
Austin
Careful. Britain is listening.
Olivia
Sorry, Britain. Your tea is great.
Austin
Now guess how long they need to build all this.
Olivia
A month?
Austin
About a day.
Olivia
One day? I need a week for a new printer.
Austin
But there's a problem. In 1991, the camera only works inside the lab.
Olivia
Of course, because almost nobody had the internet at home then.
Austin
Right. So for two years, the pot is only for the lab.
Olivia
Ooh, and then 1993 comes. I know this part…
Austin
…you know this part? Okay, go on.
Olivia
In 1993, a new web browser comes out. Its name is Mosaic.
Austin
A browser, so a program for web pages.
Olivia
Yes. And Mosaic can show pictures inside a web page. Before that, most web pages were just words.
Austin
Okay, now you're stealing my story.
Olivia
Sorry, sorry. Take it back.
Austin
So in November 1993, two other men in the lab do something new. Daniel Gordon and Martyn Johnson put the coffee pot on the web.
Olivia
So now anybody in the world can look at this pot.
Austin
Anybody, anywhere, any time of day…
Olivia
…all looking at a coffee pot in England. But why?
Austin
That's the funny part. They can't drink the coffee!
Olivia
I know why. It's live, and it's very far away.
Austin
People love it. A TV channel from Japan even comes to film it.
Olivia
A TV crew for a coffee pot.
Austin
And by about 1996, the picture has more than one million visits.
Olivia
One million? For grey coffee?
Austin
For grey coffee. A journalist even said this. The pot had more visitors than King's College Chapel.
Olivia
The chapel, so that big old church in Cambridge?
Austin
Yes, and tourists come from all over the world to see it.
Olivia
And they lose to a coffee pot. Okay, listeners, quick question for you. What thing in your home needs a webcam? Tell us in the comments.
Austin
My answer is easy. The washing machines in my building.
Olivia
Why those?
Austin
Two machines in the basement. I carry my clothes down four floors, and both are busy.
Olivia
So that's your empty coffee pot.
Austin
Exactly. But back to our pot, because it isn't always the same pot.
Olivia
What do you mean?
Austin
Coffee machines break. So over the years, the lab gets new ones.
Olivia
How many?
Austin
Nobody agrees. Quentin once wrote three or four. Other people say four or five.
Olivia
The most famous coffee pot in the world, and nobody counted them.
Austin
Nobody counted. Then in 2001, the computer lab moves to a new building.
Olivia
Does the camera move too?
Austin
Guess.
Olivia
Yes, of course. Everybody loves it.
Austin
No. The team decides to stop.
Olivia
No! Why?
Austin
I think ten years is enough for them. And they have other work now.
Olivia
It's still sad.
Austin
But the news is big. The story is on the front page of The Times in London…
Olivia
…the front page, so the first page, with the biggest news?
Austin
The very first page. And it's on the front page of The Washington Post too.
Olivia
For a coffee pot!
Austin
On the twenty-second of August 2001, they the camera off. And guess the last picture.
Olivia
An empty pot?
Austin
A hand. Three fingers, ready to press the switch.
Olivia
Oh, that's a little sad, and a little funny.
Austin
And now, the broken pot.
Olivia
Wait, can I tell this part? I read about it last year.
Austin
Of course you did. Go for it.
Olivia
The people in the lab have a coffee club. The club owns the pot. They decide to sell the last pot on eBay, in an .
Austin
An auction, so people offer money, and the biggest offer wins.
Olivia
Exactly. And this pot is a Krups, and it's in a bad state. It water.
Austin
Oh no.
Olivia
And somebody cut off the ! The eBay page even says it's broken. Maybe nobody can fix it.
Austin
Wow. Great sales page.
Olivia
The best. So the club hopes for a few hundred pounds. Enough for a new coffee machine.
Austin
And now I take it back. Guess the final price.
Olivia
Five hundred pounds?
Austin
Higher.
Olivia
A thousand?
Austin
Three thousand three hundred and fifty…
Olivia
…dollars?
Austin
Pounds. Three thousand three hundred and fifty British pounds.
Olivia
For a broken pot with no plug?
Austin
For a broken pot with no plug.
Olivia
Who buys it? A museum?
Austin
Not yet. A German news website, Spiegel Online.
Olivia
News people. Of course they need coffee.
Austin
And then the coffee company, Krups, it for free.
Olivia
For free? Smart move. That's very good advertising for Krups.
Austin
Smart and kind, maybe. So the pot goes back to work. It makes coffee for the journalists in Hamburg.
Olivia
Good coffee, Austin. Fresh from a pot. No cans in Hamburg.
Austin
I knew you were going to say that.
Olivia
So is it still in Hamburg today?
Austin
No. Since 2016, it's in a big computer museum in Paderborn, in Germany…
Olivia
…so it gets to a museum in the end!
Austin
In the end, yes. And guess what's next to it.
Olivia
A webcam.
Austin
A webcam, of course.
Olivia
So it's famous again, and it doesn't even make coffee.
Austin
Your turn, listeners. A camera on a coffee pot: great idea or silly idea? Tell us in the comments.
Olivia
And the full text with the key words is in a free PDF. Find it in the description.
Austin
Subscribe for our next A2 story too. It's about a stolen football World Cup and a very clever dog.
Olivia
A dog? Okay, a dog is better than a camera.
Austin
And a dog doesn't need a plug.
Olivia
Right. And now I need coffee. I'm going down three floors.
Austin
And if the pot is empty?
Olivia
Then I'm building a webcam.
Austin
Give it one day. Bye, everyone!
Olivia
Bye, everybody!
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