Google loves having a bit of fun. For instance, if you head to Google Street View, you can explore Susan's Garage — aka Google Worldwide Headquarters — where Larry Page and Sergey Brin originally created Google. The space has been restored to is 90s-era glory and then, of course, digitized to Google for our entertainment.
While this Easter egg offers a nostalgic look back at Google's origins, it's far from the first the company has made. From games to pop culture references, typing the right terms into a Google search can offer up some clever surprises.
15 of our favorite Google Easter eggs
1. Do a barrel roll: Causes your browser screen to spin (i.e. do a barrel roll) before it settles into the standard Google search listing.
2. Askew: makes the search screen tilt to the side.
3. Anagram: Asks if you meant nag a ram.
4. The loneliness number: Brings up a calculator with "1" in the data field.
5. Text Adventure: Search for "Text Adventure" and when the results screen appears, press Ctrl+Shift+J to bring up a window to the side of the search results. Read the prompts and you'll see that it asks if you want to pay. Type in "yes" to start.
6. Pacman: Search for Pacman and you can play the game laid out in a Google Doodle board.
7. Thanos: Doing a search for "Wizard of Oz" will bring up a knowledge box (usually at the top right, though you may have to scroll down). Wait until the page has fully loaded and then click on Thanos' gauntlet and the fingers will snap, making your search results disappear one at a time. (You can also try "Wizard of Oz" and clicking on the ruby slippers and the tornado.)
8. Google in 1998: Changes the site to look like the 1998 version.
9. Tic tac toe: Loads a tic tac toe search panel, letting you get in a quick game (or two) in between searches.
10. T-Rex Run: If you're using the Chrome browser and don't have internet access, open a new tab in your browser and hit the space bar when the see the T-Res and the "No Internet" message.
11. Animal Sounds: Type in "animal sounds" and you'll see four random animals that you can click on to hear what they sound like. You can scroll through and listen to 57 different sounds.
Then there are some that are useful:
12. Flip a coin: Flips a virtual coin for you and lets you know whether it came up heads or tails.
13. Roll a die: Rolls a virtual six-sided die for you. You can also choose a 4, 8, 10, 12 or 20-sided die.
14. Breathing exercise: Guides you through a one-minute breathing exercise to help with meditation and de-stressing.
15. Metronome: Loads a metronome that you can adjust from 40 to 218 beats per minute.
Updated on 4/28/2020 with new Easter Eggs
[Image credit: Google search on phone via BigStockPhoto]
