Internets (colloquialism) |
: This page is about the word Internets , as misspoken by US President George W. Bush. For other uses of the word Internets, see Internets.
Internets was originally used as shorthand for cluelessness about the Internet or about technology in general. It gained widespread currency when U.S. President George W. Bush referred to the Internets in the U.S. presidential election debates, 2004 with U.S. Senator John Kerry on October 8, 2004. The exact exchange, taken from a transcript at Wikisource, is reproduced below:
AUDIENCE QUESTION: Mr. President, since we continue to police the world, how do you intend to maintain a military presence without re-instituting a draft BUSH: Yes, great question. Thanks. I hear there s rumors on the uh (pause) Internets that we re going to have a draft. We re not going to have a draft, period. The all-volunteer Army works. ...
By coincidence, internets was already part of an obscure catchphrase on the Something Awful Forums ( Oh noes! I have five internets open! ). In this earlier usage, the internets referred to multiple browser windows as interpreted by a computer neophyte, rather than a collective term for the Internet, as Bush apparently meant to use it.
= See also =
*Interweb *Bushism
= External links =
*[http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/internets.php Flash video of the actual quote from the President]|
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