Minitel

Minitel was kind of like the Internet, but it started in France a long, long time ago - even before lots of people had computers in their homes or knew what the Internet was.

So imagine you're in France, a long time ago, and you want to look up some information or talk to your friends who aren't close by. You can't use a computer like you can today, so instead, you use a special machine called a Minitel.

This machine had a little screen and a keyboard, kind of like a computer, but it was special because it was connected to a big network of other Minitel machines all across France. So you could use your Minitel to reach out and talk to all kinds of people, or to look up information on all kinds of topics - just like you might use the Internet today!

The cool thing was that this network of Minitel machines was really easy to use. All you had to do was type in a special code or number to connect you to the information you wanted or the person you wanted to talk to. It was kind of like having a magical phone book or encyclopedia that you could access from your own little machine at home.

So Minitel was a way for people in France to communicate and share information, just like we do today with the Internet. It might seem old-fashioned now, but it was a really big deal back in the day!