When you've been responsible for some of the most amazing and occasionally creepiest technology in human history, you can afford to take a load off every once in a while and celebrate yourself.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, which has been funding research and development for a wide array of defense and military projects for 56 years, chose to celebrate its birthday on Twitter Friday by sharing a whimsical image of — you guessed it — a robot with a birthday cake. It's a photo that's well-earned, especially considering DARPA's impact on modern society.
Happy Birthday DARPA! 56 and innovation never looked so good pic.twitter.com/sn6fgs2ysi
— DARPA (@DARPA) February 7, 2014
In addition to its military research, DARPA is responsible for many consumer technologies and platforms we enjoy today, including driverless cars, the concept of a computer interface and our beloved Internet, which started as ARPANET.
The organization, which recently announced it was making some open-source projects available in its DARPA Open Catalog, has also funded a variety of memorable robotics technologies, including DEKA's Star Wars-esque Luke robotic arm, as well as Boston Dynamic's (now a Google company) powerful Big Dog (pictured below) and life-like Petman.
So raise a glass to the cake-eating robot, and celebrate DARPA's 56th birthday.

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