Designers at Google are mostly self-professed nerds, but that doesn’t stop them from having a good sense of humor. Among the billions of things you can search for in Google, the designers have hidden some tricks, hoaxes, and Easter eggs. Ever been frustrated with the limited transit options (e.g. car, public transit, bicycle) in Google Maps? Take a dragon. Feel that Google search isn’t right for your personality? Use its interface as a pirate instead. To find these and more, check out this list of 25 awesome Google tricks and Easter eggs.
Know the iconic “I’m feeling lucky” button? Click it to bring up a list of Google’s past doodles (what it modifies its logo to be) in this first Google trick.
Source: Cnet, Image: Wikimedia
Kerning is the process of adjusting the space between letters on a typewriter. Search “kerning” to see how how it’s done.
Source: Cnet, Image: Wikipedia
Search “Google gravity” and click “I’m feeling lucky”. The result brings up a page where gravity rules. Any additional terms you search for also fall prey to gravity’s effects.
Source: Cnet, Image: Wikimedia
Similarly, click “I’m feeling lucky” after typing “Google sphere” and mrdoob.com shows the page’s features orbiting around the Google logo.
Source: Cnet, Image: Wikimedia
Search Google Maps’s Street View just outside London’s Earl’s Court underground station to find another Google trick. You’ll find a TARDIS from Doctor Who which you can click on to go inside. It really is bigger on the inside.
Source: Cnet, Image: Wikimedia
A barrel roll in such a well-known part of the Starfox video game, typing “do a barrel roll” into Google causes the page to, well, do a barrel roll.
Source: Cnet, Image: Cyber6x via YouTube
You’ll know “what is the loneliest number” if you have listened to Three Dog Night or if you just search it in Google.
Source: Portent, Image: Pixabay
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy has become an iconic novel and film. Google built in a trick to recognize its popularity – search for “answer to life the universe and everything” from the book. (Hint: The answer to life the universe and everything is 42.)
Source: Cnet, Image: Wikimedia
Know the phrase “once in a blue moon”? Type it into Google to find out how often a blue moon occurs.
Source: Cnet, Image: sammydavisdog via Flickr
To travel around Wales quicker – notably from Snowdon to Brecon Beacons – map out these points in Google Maps and you could save three hours by taking a dragon from the Snowdonia Dragon Station. Let us know when you find it.
Source: Cnet, Image: Wikimedia
Has anyone seen Chuck Norris lately? It’s rumored that asking Google “Where is Chuck Norris” might lead to a personal appearance. “Run, before he finds you.”
Source: Portent, Image: Jason H. Smith via Flickr
Searching for “tilt” in Google leads to a Google Easter egg with results which are a bit…off.
Source: Cnet, Image: Wikipedia
If you’re having trouble making a decision, search “Flip a Coin” or “Roll a Die” in Google and it’ll help.
Source: Portent, Image: icma via Flickr
Searching the word “anagram” surprisingly results in an anagram.
Source: Cnet, Image: Chris Dlugosz via Flickr
Click “I’m feeling lucky” after typing in “Who is the cutest” to find out who’s the cutest person in the world.
Source: Portent, Image: Wikipedia
For a flash to the past, search “Google in 1998″ to see its old website from, you guessed it, 1998, with real results from the past.
Source: Cnet, Image: List25
If you’re a StarCraft fan (or looking for a fun game), search “Zerg Rush” in Google to see Google O’s attacking your search results. Click on the O’s as fast as possible to defeat them!
Source: Cnet, Image: sobcontrollers via Flickr
HTML is a computer language often used to create web pages. Type “blink html” into Google for this Easter egg and see what this word does in html.
Source: Cnet, Image: Wikipedia
Google allows you to use different interfaces on the home page, such as the Muppets’s Swedish Chef. (Click on the link below each image to see the pages.)
Source: Cnet, Image: List25
| Swedish Chef |
Pirate
Source: Cnet, Image: List25
| Pirate |
Hacker
Source: Cnet, Image: List25
| Hacker |
And even Pig Latin
Source: Cnet, Image: List25
| Pig Latin |
In YouTube, search for “use the force Luke” and see the force in action.
Source: Cnet, Image: JD Hancock via Flickr
Similarly, search for “beam me up Scotty” to have Scotty beam down your results in this Google Easter egg.
Source: Cnet, Image: Wikimedia
Recursion is when something refers back to itself; that’s recursion. Find this last Google trick by searching “recursion” in Google to see what it suggests you look for.
Source: Cnet, Image: Torley via Flickr
