List of Google Easter eggs
A Pac-Man related interactive Google Doodle from 2010 will be shown to users searching for "google pacman" or "play pacman".
The technology company Google has added Easter eggs into many of its products and services, such as Google Search, YouTube, and Android since at least 2000.[1][2]
Easter eggs are hidden features or messages, inside jokes, and cultural references inserted into media. They are often well hidden, so that users find it gratifying when they discover them, helping form bonds between their creators and finders. Google's employees are encouraged to use 20% of their time for projects of personal interest, and Easter eggs are sometimes created during this. Google avoids adding Easter eggs to popular search pages, as they do not want to negatively impact usability.[3][4]
Search engine[]
As Google searches are case insensitive,[5] search terms are listed in lower case except where case sensitivity is explicitly referenced.
General[]
A Google web search for:
- "a long time ago in a galaxy far far away" resulted in the same tilted, scrolling style that the introductions to the original Star Wars movies were presented in.[6] This included the music,[6] which was muted but could be heard by clicking on or selecting the muted speaker icon on the page. However, this was discontinued on June 28, 2017.[7]
- "ascii art" showed the logo as if it was created with ASCII characters.[8]
- "askew" causes the results page to be tilted, leaning down, left to right.[9][10]
- "pele", or "Pelé" causes the Goooo...gle page indicator at the bottom of the page to read Gooo..al instead, with the last "o" replaced by a soccer ball. This Easter egg was made to honor the legendary soccer player Edson Arantes do Nascimento, who is casually gone by his soccer alias, Pelé.
- "binary", "hex", "hexadecimal" and "octal" shows the number of search results in the respective numeral system.[11][12]
- "<blink>", "blink tag", or "blink html" includes samples of the blink element in the results.[13]
- "cha cha slide" adds a glittering microphone next to the link to the official music video. Click it through each stage, and it will recreate the main chorus in the browser.[14]
- "chess" cause the "Goooo...gle" page indicator at the bottom of every result page to show chess pieces instead.
- "christmas", "hanukkah", and "kwanzaa" will show decorations next to the search bar for each respective holiday. The feature is only active during the month of December. Each year, new decorations are shown.[15][16]
- "conway's game of life" on a desktop browser generates a running configuration of the game to the right of the search results. The process can also be stopped and altered by the user.[17][3]
- "diwali" will show a lamp which when clicked starts a lamp lighting game.[citation needed]
- "do a barrel roll" or "z or r twice" causes the result page to do a Star Fox-style barrel roll.[18][19][20]
- "drag queen", "gay pridegay pride", "homosexuality", "stonewall" and other LGBT-related searches, at times of gay pride festival activity, cause the results page to have a rainbow themed header.[21][22]
- "dvd screensaver" causes the Google logo on the top right corner of to bounce around the screen, shifting colors between blue, red, yellow, and green every time it hits the page boundaries.[23]
- Every time the tab currently engaged in the Easter egg is returned to after being clicked out of, the bouncing logo will always be in a position where it hits perfectly into a corner.
- "festivus" shows an image of the Festivus pole beside the search results and the message "A festivus miracle!" next to the number of search results.[24][19][20]
- "fifa" and "world cup", during FIFA World Cup 2010, caused the "Goooo...gle" page indicator at the bottom of every result page to read "Goooo...al!" instead.[25]
- "fireworks", "fourth of july" and other search terms containing "firework", on US Independence Day – July 4th, will display simulated multi-colored fireworks for several seconds.[26]
- "google in 1998" on a desktop browser will generate a layout similar to the one Google used for its search engine in 1998.[27][20]
- "is google down" returns with "No".[28]
- "kerning" will add spaces between the letters of the word "kerning" in the search results. Kerning refers to the process of adjusting the space between letters in a word.[29]
- "<marquee>", "marquee tag", or "marquee html" will apply the marquee element to the results count at the top of the results.[32][33]
- "ramadan" during the month of Ramadan will allow the initiation of a search of an image of a night sky for a crescent Moon by clicking an image of a crescent Moon in the Knowledge Panel. Upon finding the crescent Moon, the user is congratulated with the message "You found it! Ramadan Kareem to you and your loved ones!" as lanterns drop into view.[citation needed] This also worked during Eid al-Fitr month, but the message at the end was changed to "You found it! Eid Mubarak to you and your loved ones!"[citation needed]
- "star wars" and other Star Wars related search terms on May 4 (Star Wars Day) summons a splash of confetti, some confetti being characters/items from the Star Wars series.[34]
- "suez canal" or "ever given" showed an emoji of a boat scrolling across the top of the screen, referencing the ending of the 2021 Suez canal obstruction.[35][36]
- "super bowl" in February 2021 showed a black and red firework display in celebration of Tampa Bay Buccaneers victory over Kansas City Chiefs.[37]
- "superb owl" around the time of the Super Bowl will show a Knowledge Graph for the Super Bowl, along with a games' information panel titled "Superb Owl" with an image of an owl wearing a crown, in response to an ongoing joke amongst redditors about the common misspelling of "Super Bowl".[2][38]
- "text adventure" using most popular modern browsers (except Safari)[39] and opening the browser's developer console will trigger a text-based adventure game playable within the console.[40][41] Responding "no" to "[w]ould you like to play a game" will print "the only winning move is not to play" in the console, referencing WarGames.[citation needed]
Google's animated webdriver torso logo.
- "webdriver torso" turns the Google logo into moving colored blocks. This is a reference to an automated YouTube channel made by Google to test YouTube's performance. This does not work on mobile devices or when there is a Google Doodle on that day.[42][20]
- "zerg rush" causes an army of Google Os to attack and destroy the search results, which can be defeated by clicking on them.[43] Once defeated (as victory is impossible[44]), the Os form two Gs (GG), meaning "Good Game".[45][20]
Did you mean[]
A Google web search for:
- "alex trebek" shows "Did you mean: who is alex trebek" in reference to Jeopardy!.[46]
- "anagram" shows "Did you mean: nag a ram".[47]
- "emacs" shows "Did you mean: vi", and vice versa when searching "vi". This is a reference to the vi vs emacs editor war.[citation needed]
- "groundhog day" shows "Did you mean: groundhog day", linking to the same search over and over again.[citation needed]
- "han shot first" shows "Did you mean: greedo shot first" and vice versa, referencing the infamous change made to Star Wars in 1997.[citation needed]
- "recursion" shows a "Did you mean: recursion" link back to the same page.[18]
- "steamed hams" shows "Did you mean: steamed clams", referencing The Simpsons episode "22 Short Films About Springfield".[citation needed]
- "the one ring" shows "Did you mean: my precioussss" in reference to Gollum's name for it in The Lord of the Rings.[citation needed]
- "war in ba sing se" shows "Did you mean: there is no war in Ba Sing Se". This is a reference to the show Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which characters try to prevent the rumors of war.[50]
- "wubba lubba dub dub" shows "Did you mean: i am in great pain please help me".[51] When using Google Assistant, it responds with "Are you in pain? How can I help?", "Sorry, I don't speak Birdperson" or "Morty, let's get Schwifty", referencing the adult animated science fiction sitcom Rick and Morty.[52]
Knowledge Graph[]
A Google web search for:
- "bletchley park" shows the name of the attraction being decoded in the Knowledge Graph.[53]
- "frank kameny" will show a LGBTQ heart with confetti and flags falling across the search results.[citation needed]
- "fresh prince of bel-air", in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the TV show's first airing in 1990, displayed a replica of the "FRESH" license plate in the Knowledge Graph. Clicking on the license plate caused a taxi to move by the screen, and the search results to acquire a 90s theme with various references to and jokes in reference to people and places across the TV show via audio clips and animations. Clicking the bar at the top of the page reverted the display to its original results and design.[54][55]
- "holi", around the time of the festival, shows a picture of bowls of colored powder in the Knowledge Graph which, when clicked, will simulate throwing a gob of powder at the page where clicked. Further clicks on the page will simulate further gobs of colored powder being thrown to that point. A raindrop icon appears which, when clicked, will cause the page to be washed clean of colored powder.[56][57]
- "legally blonde" shows a pink purse next to the Knowledge Graph, which when clicked, has protagonist Elle Woods' pet chihuahua Bruiser jump out of the purse and walk to a pink salon chair which dresses him in his "signature sweater". He then walks back and jumps into the purse, with Elle saying, "Hi, I'm Elle Woods, and this is Bruiser Woods, and we're both Gemini vegetarians." Once the animation is complete, the color of the links on the page change from their usual blue to pink to match Elle's "signature look".[58]
- "mars 2020" will show the Ingenuity helicopter that when clicked, flies around the screen.[59]
- "new year's eve", on New Year's Eve 2020, showed a cannon next to the Knowledge Graph which once clicked, made confetti explode.[60]
- "pluto" describes Pluto as "Our favorite dwarf planet since 2006" in the Knowledge Graph.[61]
- "sonic the hedgehog game" and "green hill zone" will give a Knowledge Graph with Sonic waiting. Clicking or tapping Sonic will make him spin; if clicked or tapped 25 times, Sonic will transform into Super Sonic.[62][63][64]
- "super mario bros" shows a Knowledge Graph for Super Mario Bros. that contains a flashing "?" block which generates a coin and 200 points when clicked. After 100 coins are collected, the "1UP" sound plays.[65]
- "thanos" and "infinity gauntlet" displayed a Knowledge Graph with the Infinity Gauntlet on it. Clicking it will cause its fingers to snap, disintegrating half of the links and images on the page, as well as counting down the number of results to half. This is a reference to the 2018 film Avengers: Infinity War, in which the character Thanos destroyed half of all life in the universe with the Gauntlet on his hand by snapping his fingers. It was added in celebration of its sequel, Avengers: Endgame. Clicking the gauntlet again restores the previously disintegrated results' content.[66][67][68] As of 2020, that option is no longer available.[citation needed]
- "wizard of oz" will display a pair of ruby slippers in the Knowledge Graph. Clicking on them will cause the page to spin in a tornado-like effect while an audio file of Judy Garland saying "there's no place like home" is heard. After the effect finishes, the page is seen in a sepia tone only. If the tornado is clicked, an audio file from the movie when the tornado hits plays, the page spins again and returns to color.[69]
Friends characters[]
For the 25th anniversary of the TV series Friends, Google embedded Easter eggs for Chandler Bing, Phoebe Buffay, Monica Geller, Ross Geller, Rachel Green and Joey Tribbiani in their respective Knowledge Graphs.[70][71][72]
Embedded tools[]
A Google web search for:
- "breathing exercise" will have a 60-second breathing exercise.[73][74]
- "bubble level" on a mobile device will have an interactive spirit level.[75]
- "color picker" or "rgb to hex" will provide a color picker and a conversion between RGB and hexadecimal color values. Selecting "Show color values" will also show conversions to the CMYK, HSL and HSV color models.[76][77]
- "flip a coin" will flip a coin: heads or tails.[78][20]
- "fun facts" or "i'm feeling curious" will show a fun fact. Once a search result has been given, clicking on "Ask another question" will show another question. It will show a short fact in about 1-3 sentences and a link to the website where the fact was found within a featured box at the top of the search results.[78][79]
- "google doodles" will result in showing a random playable Google Doodle and also show an archive of other playable Doodles.[citation needed]
- "google logo history" results in a slideshow of the changes to the Google logo, starting with the logo used today and ending with one of the first logos from 1998.[80]
- "metronome" will have a metronome that can be adjusted from 40 to 218[failed verification] BPM.[81]
- "pac-man", "google pacman" or "play pacman" will show the Pac-Man related interactive Google Doodle from 2010.[33][82] Clicking Insert Coin twice will enable a second player, Ms. Pac-Man.[83]
- "play dreidel" will spin a dreidel, landing on one of four letters of the Hebrew alphabet: נ (Nun), ג (Gimel), ה (He) or ש (Shin).[84][85]
- "random number generator" or "rng" will generate a random number. The starting range is between 1 and 10, but the maximum and minimum can be adjusted. Changing the maximum or minimum to a number with more than 10 digits will generate a dizzy face emoji