20/20 with Google

If you were listening to PowerFM last week Friday, you might have heard me mention a little something about Google Search.

Google Search turns 20 this year, and the company celebrated by showcasing some of its most memorable moments.

Although we assume that giant tech companies tend to employ some very serious people; Google’s programmers have broken the mould over the years and littered the Net with nuggets, inside jokes and hidden messages where users would least expect them.

Google let me have a list of the gems from the past 20 years. Enjoy!

1. Typing “Google in 1998” into the search bar will take you on a trip down memory lane — the results page is formatted exactly the way Google appeared in 1998.

2. Search “Build with chrome” and click “I’m feeling luckily” for a game of LEGO.

3. Type “play snake” into your search bar to play a round of your favourite Nokia 5110 game, albeit with sleeker interface and sound-effects.

4. Type “pacman” into your search bar to fire up a round of catch with your favourite gameboy critters.

5. Heads or Tails – making tough decisions remains just as easy as it was back in the day: Type “flip a coin” into your search bar and Google will do just that – flip a coin!

6. If the decision you need to make is a little bit more complicated you can always search “roll a die.”

7. Naughts & Crosses – search for “tic-tac-toe” to challenge your computer to a game.

8. Searching for “sonic the hedgehog” will call up an interactive Sonic logo complete with sound effect and iconic spin.

9. Search for “solitaire” to play a round against the computer.

10. Launch an image search of “Atari breakout” to play the game.

11. Search for “zerg rush” to play a game and improve your mouse-eye coordination while you’re at it.

12. Search “I’m feeling curious” for a Chappies-esque fun fact.

13. Disable your internet connection, then go to your Chrome browser and hit the spacebar to call up a game of T-Rex Runner where you help the pixelated dinosaur navigate a cactus obstacle course.

14. Search “spinner” and you can toggle between a number spinning wheel and a fidget spinner.

15. Search “internet speed test” to check how fast your connection is running.

16. Search “breathing exercise” if you are feeling a bit stressed and just follow the instructions to calm yourself down.

17. Type “Google gravity” into search bar and click “I’m feeling lucky” and watch your browser succumb to the force.

18. Type “epic google” into the search bar and click “I’m feeling lucky” to see just how big Google can get.

19. Search “blink html” to see a canny demonstration of basic coding.

20. Type “Google sphere” into the search bar and click “I’m feeling lucky” to orbital results.