gopher

gopher n.  A type of Internet service first floated around
   1991 and now (1994) being obsolesced by the World-Wide Web. Gopher
   presents a menuing interface to a tree or graph of links;
   the links can be to documents, runnable programs, or other gopher
   menus arbitrarily far across the net.

   Some claim that the gopher software, which was originally developed
   at the University of Minnesota, was named after the Minnesota
   Gophers (a sports team).  Others claim the word derives from
   American slang `gofer' (from "go for", dialectical "go fer"),
   one whose job is to run and fetch things.  Finally, observe that
   gophers (aka woodchucks) dig long tunnels, and the idea of
   tunneling through the net to find information was a defining
   metaphor for the developers.  Probably all three things were true,
   but with the first two coming first and the gopher-tunnel metaphor
   serendipitously adding flavor and impetus to the project as it
   developed out of its concept stage.