40 maps that explain the internet

Ref. map #3 and why Norway was the first country to join ARPANET:

"Tracing the origins of the Internet in this country, it turns out that Norway was the first non-english speaking country on the net. It also turns out that the reason for getting Norway on to the net was a highly laudable cause. In 1971, NORSAR (NORwegian Seismic ARray) at Kjeller just outside Oslo was connected to the Seismic Data Analysis Center (SDAC) in Virginia with a fixed, 2.4Kbits line. NORSAR and SDAC were financed by DARPA (US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency) for the purpose of monitoring the early nuclear test-ban treaties, the Norwegian array being ideally situated close to the Soviet test sites on Novaja Zemlja in the Arctic."

http://www.isoc-no.no/isoc-no/social/isoc-no-art.html