The whole of our civilisation relies on thin strands of fibre no more than a few centimetres across, strung like a coelacanth’s party lights in the crushing depths of the world’s oceans. Sometimes an errant anchor or angry sperm whale will sever a link and for the briefest moment the lights on your modem will flicker, but the internet just routes around the damage and, for the most part, you and I will barely notice. Well, usually.
(Click the image above to see an enormous map of all the submarine cables around the world, along with their capacities, costs, and carriers.)
