# "The Mundaneum" in Mons, Belgium

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundaneum-in-mons-belgium/808492>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [February 9, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundaneum-in-mons-belgium/808492 "2018-02-09T00:47:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mundaneum-in-mons-belgium/808492/1 "2018-02-09T00:47:20Z")

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Since the early 1980s, when I was in my late teens, I’ve heard the story over and over again about a computer in Belgium called “The Beast” that has information on it about every person in the world. :dubious: When my Atlas Obscura calendar had an entry about this today, I knew immediately that this is probably where the urban legend originated.

> **[Mundaneum](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mundaneum)**
>
> A visionary precursor to the Internet made of index cards.

> **[Mundaneum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mundaneum)**
>
> Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}50°27′27.67″N 3°57′19.62″E / 50.4576861°N 3.9554500°E / 50.4576861; 3.9554500
> The Mundaneum was an institution which aimed to gather together all the world's knowledge and classify it according to a system called the Universal...

[http://www.mundaneum.org/en](http://www.mundaneum.org/en)

I had never previously heard of it.