The Internet consists of at least 4 billion webpages, which, you'll realize unless you have lost all sense of scale, is a vast collection of content. Not all of it is good content, obviously, and I suspect a fair percentage is pornography. Still, the Web is epic and only likely to grow even more epic from this moment forth.

But wait! It turns out the Internet has an end. There is a last page, a final entry, a conclusion to the story. In fact, there are several last pages, final entries, and conclusions to the story. Because having just one would be far too simple. The end is nigh. It is, in fact, about 800 words south of here.

The Beginning Of The End

According to Know Your Meme, the last page of the Internet trend first reared it's ugly head in the late 1990s, before the Internet had even exploded into mainstream consciousness. Throughout the years there have been dozens of domains dedicated to the phenomenon, with many either expiring or changing hands in that time.

The phenomenon has resisted change, however, and as you'll see below, many of the websites purporting to be the end of the last page of the Internet look like they belong to another, altogether simpler, time when text and pixelated graphics were the order of the day.

The Collection

What follows are eight "last pages of the Internet," all of which exist on their own dedicated domains. If you delve a little deeper on Google or Bing (or Google & Bing combined) you'll find dozens more, but most are subdomains and not nearly as impressive as these fine efforts.

Internet Last Page

Internet Last Page keeps things simple and direct, though with a "Ta da" and a "Wow!" to grab your attention. The directive to, "Now turn off your computer, and go have fun" suggests that there is no fun to be had online, which MakeUseOf disproves on a daily basis.

HMPG

HMPG, which I suspect was once snapped up as a shortening of "Homepage" offers something a little extra than the others on the list. You're advised to, "Go do something useful with the rest of your life," and suggestions include reading a book and planting a tree. But not before you have downloaded the Internet in its entirety to your hard drive. Naturally.

The End Of The Internet

The End Of The Internet sees things take a rather strange twist, with the addition of a question mark to the word "Congratulations" making you ponder your life choices to this point. There is also the assertion that the end of the Internet has no numerical value attached to it, with the acronym NaN appearing multiple times on the page.

The Very Last Page On The Internet

The Very Last Page On The Internet may as well have not even bothered turning up, as it comprises just four lines of text. Still, those four lines of text include all of the relevant information, and several exclamation points just to underline the overall message.

End Of The Internet

End Of The Internet is either owned by or affiliated with xkcd, one of many awesome webcomics drawn for geeks. Still, because xkcd IS indeed awesome we won't hold this against them. This website tells us where the last page of the Internet is located... San Antonio, Texas, apparently.

The Last Page

The Last Page proves there is demand for this kind of thing, with almost 500,000 visitors logged (at the time of writing) despite there being nothing of merit on the site. The typos and errant capitalization are the icing on this very bare cake.

The End Of Internet

The End Of Internet has a grammatically messy domain name but offers sage advice worth taking on board. Apparently we all need to "step outside the door to face reality," where we can chat to people face to face or even play with kids in the street. I'll pass, but thanks.

Turn Off The Internet

We end with Turn Off The Internet, which adds an interactive element to proceedings. There's no fancy HTML5 here, just a virtual button that once pressed heralds the arrival of a pop-up informing you that "You have now safely shutdown the Internet." Mummy, I'm scared.

Conclusions

OK, so maybe the Internet has no end. Maybe there is no last page of the Internet. In fact, it's very likely it will continue to grow and evolve long after all of us have lost the ability to use a mouse and keyboard, or any desire to type the phrase "Sexy Pictures" into your search engine of choice.

Still, these domains have been part of the Web for several years, and offer (if nothing else) a gentle reminder to turn off the ol' computer and go outside once in a while. I hear there's a strange glowing orb in the sky that gives off heat and light, though I have personally never seen such a thing.

Let us know your thoughts on the end of the Internet, and the last page of the Internet that suggest you've reached the conclusion of your browsing, in the comments section below. Or go and buy a suitable domain name and add your contribution to this collection of websites designed to troll the n00bish of the n00bs. Stick some ads on it and you might even make a few bucks.

Image Credit: Andrew Mason, Dwilliams851