"It's strange to think that so much effort on such a large scale is devoted to something the size of a human hair. But optic fiber allows the modern world to talk to itself."
Nice read about "How the first cable was laid across the Atlantic", back in 1858 http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-01/18/transatlantic-cables/viewall For Nerds only: A 35 mn conference about the history of it all. Nerd Nite SF: "20,000 Leagues Under the TCP: The Undersea Internet" by Chris Woodfield https://vimeo.com/29975179