1997 / Game / Personal-site interactive gag
Poke Alex in the Eye
A college-friend joke about poking Alex in the eye became a tiny web game with an absurdly literal premise.
The original is hosted off-site; this page provides context and a link to it.
What was this?
AutoPoke loops through Alex’s self-directed stage gag while JavaPoke turned the same harmless, posed photo sequence into a deliberately low-stakes clicking game.
Why it spread
A Netscape “What Cool” feature brought the friends a sudden traffic surge beyond campus; later versions, links, and funny-site directories kept the small joke circulating.
What happened
AutoPoke loops through Alex’s self-directed stage gag while JavaPoke turned the same harmless, posed photo sequence into a deliberately low-stakes clicking game.
Where it came from
Alex Burr and his friend Mike published the first versions of Poke Alex in the Eye to Mike’s RIT student page in 1997, using captured frames and a clickable Java version.
Why it mattered
It preserves the personal-homepage web at its most specific: two friends made one silly interaction, hosted it themselves, and let the internet find it.
How it spread
A Netscape “What Cool” feature brought the friends a sudden traffic surge beyond campus; later versions, links, and funny-site directories kept the small joke circulating.
Keep going
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