  I present a pedagogical review of inflation and the cosmic microwave
background. I describe how a short period of accelerated expansion can replace
the special initial conditions of the standard big bang model. I also describe
the development of CMBology: the study of the cosmic microwave background. This
cool (3 K) new cosmological tool is an increasingly precise rival and
complement to many other methods in the race to determine the parameters of the
Universe: its age, size, composition and detailed evolution.
