Internet Protocol "(IP)" is the lingo computers use to sling data packets across networks. Your IP address is what identifies your computer, phone, or even your smart fridge on your home Wi-Fi or out on the big, wide internet.
IP addresses are made up of four 8-bit octets (basically numbers between 0 and 255) separated by dots. That gives us about 4.3 billion unique addresses—sounds like heaps, but believe it or not, we're almost fresh out!
No dramas, though! The tech wizards already cooked up IPv6, which has so many addresses that every single person alive today could have 51.5 septillion of their very own. Yeah, that’s a real number! This little nugget of internet trivia was brought to you by...