Telnet is a great way to realize that HTTP is just some simple text commands and not some mysterious binary protocol. WireShark also provides a good visualizat

Telnet is a great way to realize that HTTP is just some simple text commands and not some mysterious binary protocol. WireShark also provides a good visualization of the HTTPS negotiation process and the various layers of HTTPS requests and responses. It does take a lot more to figure out than telnet though.