The ancestor of Internet was ARPANET,a project funded by the U,S.Deptt. of Defence (DOD) in 1969 both as an experiment in reliable networking and to link DOD and military resarch contractors including the large number of Universities doing military funded research. ARPA stands for Advanced Research Projects Administration, a branch of DOD. This agency is now called DARPA, D for defence. ARPA started small ,connecting 3 computers in California with one in Utah and quickly grew to span the Continent.
In early 1980 ARPANET grew into the early Internet, a group of interlinked networks connecting many Educational and Research sites funded by National Science Foundation(NSF) along with original military sites.
By 1990 it became clear that Internet was here to stay and DARPA and NSF bowed out in favour of commercially run networks that comprise todays Internet. No matter which of the companies one is attached to,they all interconect; so it is all one giant Internet.
The statement Internet spans the Continents may be disputed by some who will point out that Antartica is a continent, although largely populated by Penguins. However, a few machines at South Base on McMurdo Sound in Antartica are on the Internet connected by radio link to New Zealand. The base at South Pole is reported to have a link to the U.S, but it does not publish its electronic address.
Largest Internet free land mass as of now in the World probably is Queen Elizbeth island in the Canadian Arctic. New Guinea, a large jungle island Norh of Australia has an internet provider from 1997.
                  --------------------------------------------
The word "silly" comes from the ancient word "selie" meaning spiritually happy.Perhaps silliness is a spiritual value.
raju