Via Lobsters [1] comes this brief historty of the x86 architecture and the 1,000 ways to move data between registers [2], and by 1,000 ways, it really is 1,000 ways. Mind boggling. These days, the x86 has exceeded any known definition of CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer) and is now into LICISC (Ludicrously Insane and Complex Instruction Set Computer) territory.
It's also interesting to see just how far back the x86 line goes—it pretty much starts with the Intel 4-bit 4004 back in 1971. So it seems we're running a 64-bit extension over a 32-bit extention over a 16-bit redesign of an 8-bit computer based on a 4-bit computer from a 2-bit company with just one CPU (Central Processing Unit) line. Nice.
[1] https://lobste.rs/s/msd8xl/x86_mov_insns_short_history_most_popular