If you haven’t heard of Google Easter Eggs, where have you been? Probably not messing about on the internet, well that is probably going to change as we run down these little hidden gems from Google. We hope these are a welcome five-minute break from your busy schedule.
We all know of the chocolate egg-shaped confectionary handed out at Easter well a Google Easter Egg is nothing like that. A Google Easter Egg is a hidden feature within a design that might not be at first that obvious to see. People tend to find out about these Easter Eggs from Social Media feeds and blog posts (like this one). So, here is a roundup of our favourite top 10 Easter Eggs from Google.
For a nostalgic view of Google from decades ago try searching ‘Google in 1998’. It gives you a flashback to a time when Google wasn’t the absolute king of search. It’s just a bit of fun and not a functional website. One interesting feature of Google at the time was the ability to search your query through other popular search engines of the time. Can you imagine that feature being brought back by Google?
If you search for ‘Sonic the Hedgehog video game’, you will see an early 90’s version of everyone’s favourite blue hedgehog. Here you will find him waiting just to the right of the screen. Leave him there for a few moments & you will see him tapping his foot, getting frustrated waiting, just like on the classic Sega video game. If you then click on Sonic, you will see him jump along with all the classic sounds familiar with the game. Keep clicking up to 25 times and you will see him transform again.
Remember the good old days of only having a few games preloaded on your Windows PC to occupy your free time or more often than not when you cannot face doing any actual work?
Well, here is your chance to spend a few spare moments immersing yourself in this classic number battle against the computer. If you type ‘Minesweeper’ into Google you can start playing this classic.
This is our personal favourite here at Abstraction. If your internet has ever gone down, you may have come across this hidden gem hidden within the Google Chrome Browser. Once you see this screen, launch the game by simply hitting the space bar to get the Dinosaur running. Use the arrow keys combined with the space bar as the controls. Keep the Dino running for long enough and the screen will turn into night mode. Who would have thought losing connection could be so much fun!
What was it that Dorothy once said? ‘There is no place like home’. Well, there is no place like the Google homepage after you search for ‘Wizard of Oz’. If you then click on Dorothy’s red Ruby slippers you will see the digital world around you spin around. This Easter Egg was released in 2019 for the 80th anniversary of the release of the 1939 film.
Article Written by Matt Partridge
Web Developer & Digital Marketing Specialist
matt@madebyabstraction.com
