Cookies, the web's memory

New idea

HTTP forgets you every time

Here is a strange fact. Every HTTP request is a fresh start. The server answers it and then forgets it ever happened. The next request, even one second later from the same browser, looks like it came from a stranger.

This is called being stateless. It keeps servers simple and fast, because a server that handles 10,000 visitors a second doesn't have to keep a running conversation with each one.

But then how do you stay logged in? You type your password once, then click from /inbox to /settings, and the site still knows it's you. Something must be reminding it.