This is legit one of the things I love most about HN, articles might be 80% about tech, but the content in the remaining 20% can be about pretty much anything, and it's always fascinating to get insight into other domains. Never considered that containers were numbered, let alone that a number clash is a significant incident, but thinking about it, yeah it makes sense.
This is kind of what big chunks of the internet were like back in the late 90s, very early 2000s, particularly before smart phones.
I suspect it's tied up in the shift of quantity/scope of "user generated content". News articles and blog-posts etc. got somewhat pushed out by "look at this cute cat photo I allegedly took myself", etc.
as HN evidences, this stuff is all still there (possibly more than ever), it's just drowning in an ocean of content aimed at pleasing children, Google's algorithm, and the less intellectually-inclined
> big chunks of the internet ... particularly before smart phones
Then, IMEI numbers.
Maybe a rare opportunity to plug one of my favorite non-fiction books, The Box, about how shipping containers restructured global trade.
And much more than trade. It had effect on road infrastructure, various temporary constructs including school rooms for emergency situations and housing as well.
And product dimensions, e.g. for aircraft, cars, military equipment,... Being able to ship in standard containers makes a lot of things so much easier
Wrong containers!
Still good lesson learned.
surprised but really not to see people so passionate and dedicated to containers. warms my heart, really best thing to ever happen.