30 Facts About Linux that You Probably Didn’t Know

Linux began it journey in 1991 when Linus Torvalds made the official announcement on August 25. In 2021, Linux turned to 30. So, in this article, we’ll see 30 amazing facts about Linux that you probably didn’t know. Let’s start!

1. Linux is not an OS, but it is the kernel, GNU Linux is the OS .
2. The first commercial distribution of GNU/Linux was Yggdrasil and was launched in CD format in 1992 .
3. All of the 500 most powerful supercomputers run on Linux.
4. 80% plus smartphones run on Android (based on the Linux kernel).
5. 5. 90% of the public cloud workload runs on Linux.
6. The 1st Linux kernel was released on September 17, 1991
7. On 25th August 1991, 21 years old Finnish computer science student Linus Torvalds announced that he was working on a new operating system which was ‘just a hobby, won’t be big and professional like GNU’.
8. Linux is used in all the major space programs.
9. Linus wanted to call this project as “FreaX”, something of combination free+freak+UNIX
10. The Linux mascot “Tux” was created by Larry Ewing in 1996 and it’s also an open source image. Happy 25th, Tux!
11. The first ever Linux kernel just occupied only 65 KB.
12. Linux is written over 95% of in C language, according to data by the https://openhub.net website.
13. Huawei, Intel, Google, Red Hat, Facebook, Canonical and Samsung are among the top contributors to Linux kernel development in recent years.
14. In Japan, the bullet trains use Linux to maintain and manage the advanced Automatic Train Control system.
15. Linux has a specific place in Hollywood. The Visual effects of Avatar and Titanic were developed on Linux platform in 3D applications using the FOSS software.
16. One of the first Linux distributions was Softlanding Linux System (SLS), first released in 1992 and using the .96p4 Linux kernel.
17. Linux Kernel development during the early days were done on Minix operating System.
18. There are 10+ Linux-based mobile Operating Systems other than Android. For example, OpenZaurus, Firefox OS, Sailfish OS, Ubuntu Touch, Ubuntu Mobile, Mobline etc.
19. James Hughes was the first person to call Tux, Tux. According to him, it was an acronym for Torvalds UniX.
20. In 2021, the lines of code submitted to the Linux Git repository reached 27.8 million. Whoa!
21. 90% of all cloud infrastructure operates on Linux.
22. 96.3% of the world’s top 1 million servers run on Linux.
23. Top 3 countries that prefer Linux are India, Cuba, and Russia.
24. In the US, Linux is most popular in the states of Utah and California.
25. According to Alexa, only 2 out of top 25 websites aren’t using Linux.
26. According to 2018 stats, the number of Linux games available on Steam is 4,060.
27. 36.7% of all the websites running use Linux.
28. 83.1% of all the developers prefer Linux as a platform to work on.
29. Some of the “platinum members” of Linux Foundation are Google, AT&T, Fujitsu, Cisco, Huawei, IBM, Intel, Microsoft…
30. Linux has great applications for personal and small business financial management. GnuCash and HomeBank are the most popular ones.