The cleaning lady did it

The chart shows how internet traffic more or less came to a halt in Egypt yesterday, presumably to shut down discussion of the street demonstrations shaking that country and others in the Islamic world. The enterprising souls at MicroScope.co.uk rang up the Egyptian embassy and asked what was going on. "We're not sure who we talked to," says blogger Nick Booth, "but they said that possibly a cleaner might have unplugged the Internet by mistake." Blue skies! -- Dan Ford