Buzz
Google's web services, products, and devices are filled with hidden surprises, including Easter Eggs, playful jokes, and entertaining distractions. Over the years, users have uncovered and shared these fascinating discoveries.
1. 1998
If you search for “Google In 1998,” the results will display in the retro style of Google's website from the year it was founded.
2. Android's Delicious Digital Delights
Starting in 2008, Google's mobile operating system has named each major release after a delectable dessert, beginning with Cupcake for Android 1.5. From Gingerbread (Android 2.3) onward, users can reveal these sweet surprises on screen by navigating to the “About Device” section in “Settings” and tapping “Android Version.”
In Gingerbread, the Android robot was joined by a zombie gingerbread man. Subsequent Easter Eggs became more engaging: Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) displayed flying ice cream sandwich bars when users held down the Android robot. Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) showcased floating jellybeans when users tapped the large jellybean icon.
The Android 4.4 (Kit-Kat) Easter egg includes a spinning “K,” but holding it down reveals an Android logo styled like the Kit-Kat logo. Pressing and holding this logo brings up all the previous Android dessert versions.
Android 5.0 (Lollipop) also boasts its own set of hidden surprises.
3., 4., and 5. Google Play Games, Voice Search, and Chromebook Pixel's Konami Code
Android Police
In the late 1980s, Konami, a renowned video game developer, introduced a special cheat code that became iconic in their games. The “Konami Code” gained fame through Contra on the Nintendo Entertainment System. By entering “up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start” during the title screen, players could unlock 30 extra lives instead of the usual three.
Google has incorporated the Konami Code into several of its products, such as Google Play Games, Google Docs, and the Chromebook Pixel. Entering the code in the Google Play Games app will reward you with a witty achievement stating, “All Your Games Belong To Us.” Using the Konami Code in Google Voice Search grants you "free searches," while typing it on the Chromebook Pixel causes the external LCD stripe to flash in a vibrant array of colors.
6. YouTube's Search Results
Searching for “Beam Me Up Scotty” will display video results as though they were transported from the U.S.S. Enterprise.
The entertainment extends beyond sci-fi. During the height of the “Harlem Shake” craze, searching “Do The Harlem Shake” caused the YouTube video results to perform the widely popular Internet meme.
7. Police Telephone Box
On Google Maps, searching for “Police Telephone Box” will direct you to Earl’s Court Station. Using street view, you’ll spot the Doctor Who TARDIS on the sidewalk. Click the double-white arrows in front of the police box to enter the time machine, where you can explore a 360-degree view of its interior.
8. Google Hangouts' Gifs (and Ponies)
In May 2013, Google consolidated its chat and messaging services into a single app named Google Hangouts. This enabled users to communicate seamlessly across mobile devices and computers while also allowing them to share animated GIFs and pixel streams.
Entering “/Pitchforks” in a Google Hangouts chat will unleash a parade of angry villagers wielding pitchforks across the screen. Typing “/ShyDino” reveals a green dinosaur peeking out from behind a tiny house in your chat window, while “/BikeShed” alters the background color. Fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic aren’t left out either: typing “/Ponies” or “/Ponystream” sends animated ponies galloping through your chat.
9. Google Maps' Google View
If you search for the Google Street View of the Googleplex Headquarters in Mountain View, California, you’ll find a photo of Google employees holding a large banner that says, “I Love StreetView.”
10. Google Search's Searches
Google’s core web service has always been search, making it no surprise that the platform is brimming with Easter Eggs for users to discover while browsing online.
If you search for “Do A Barrel Roll” (or “Z or R Twice”), your search results will perform a full 360-degree rotation, a nod to the classic video game Star Fox 64 on the Nintendo 64. Searching “Atari Breakout” in Google Images will transform the results into a playable version of the iconic game. Typing “Tilt” or “Askew” into the search bar will display the results on a slightly slanted page.
When you search for “Anagram,” Google will suggest, “Nag A Ram.” Similarly, searching “Define Anagram” will prompt Google to ask if you meant “Nerd Fame Again.”
11. Kevin Bacon
Google also engages in the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game. Searching for “Bacon Number (name of an actor)” will reveal the actor’s connection to Kevin Bacon. For example, searching “Bacon Number Kevin Bacon” returns zero.
12. Google Play's Unicorns
Google’s digital store serves as the ultimate hub for Android and Google users to purchase music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books. If you initiate a search without typing anything in the search bar, the term “Unicorns” will automatically populate.
13. Google Glass Team Photo
Even the controversial Google Glass has its own hidden surprise. By tapping the device’s touchpad nine times while viewing the license agreement in “Device Info” under “Settings,” then selecting “Meet Team,” a photo of the Google Glass development team, captured using the device itself, will appear.
14. Happy Festivus!
Searching for “Festivus” on Google displays a tall Festivus pole, inspired by the TV show Seinfeld, on the left side of the screen. Scrolling to the bottom reveals the base of the pole.
15. ChromeCast's Nod to Hitchhiker's Guide
iFixit
Google’s Chromecast simplifies streaming online videos to your TV. Its engineers added a subtle Easter Egg in the form of its serial number: “Model H2G2-42.” This references Douglas Adams’ sci-fi novel Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, where H2G2 is the abbreviated title and 42 is the “answer to life, the universe, and everything.”
16. One
In Google Now, using voice search to ask, “OK Google. What is the loneliest number?” will prompt the response of the number one, a nod to Harry Nilsson’s song “One.”
