It's happened to all of us at one time or another: You click a link, or type in a web address, and don't end up where you expect. You probably get a message that says something to the effect of "404: Page Not Found." This phenomenon is so commonplace that most of us probably don't realize just how often it happens. In fact, as you've started reading this article, you might have missed the fact that it's just happened to you.

The history of the 404 error page is a bit murky, but the best (possibly apocryphal) explanation places its origins in Switzlerand in the early 1980's. As scientists as CERN were developing what would become the World Wide Web, much of the working of routing addresses was done manually. When an electronic request would come in to the central database for files, someone would find the files on the database and then transfer them electronically to the person making the request. This database was supposedly housed in an office on the 4th floor of the building in room number–you guessed it–404. If a file couldn't be found, a message was sent back: "Room 404: File Not Found."

Whether or not that is true, I think we can all agree that getting a 404 error is not fun. More often than not, the error pages don't attempt to route you in the right direction. And while I'm not sure exactly where you're trying to end up, perhaps we can help each other.

If you end up on this page because of a link you clicked on the site, please shoot me an e-mail to let me know about the broken link. I'll try to get it fixed as soon as possible.

But if you got here because you typed in an address, or clicked someone else's link, double-check to make sure everything is spelled correctly. If you still aren't sure of where to go, here are some suggestions:

Best of luck as you try to find where you are going!