If you’re watching this, chances are your internet is working just fine. But have you ever stopped to think how you’re able to stream a video from halfway across the world in real time? Spoiler alert: it’s not satellites. The real heroes are massive undersea fiber-optic cables stretching across the ocean floor—laid down by some seriously cool ships.
In this video, we take you step-by-step through how those cables get from land to the bottom of the sea, how they’re buried to avoid anchors and fishing nets, and how they’re repaired when something goes wrong (which actually happens a lot). We’re talking robot ploughs, remotely operated vehicles, dynamic positioning systems—it’s wild.
So if you’ve ever wondered how the internet actually works, or just want to geek out about some mind-blowing engineering, this one’s for you.