Google at 20 years has over 2,000 Doodles

Argentina Teacher’s Day Doodle, Sept. 11, 2018. Image: Screengrab from Google Doodle Archive

Anyone who uses the Google search engine has undoubtedly come across a Google Doodle at some point. These surprising and often amusing alterations to the logo on the Google homepage are often deployed to mark anniversaries or special events.

The Google Doodle concept is almost as old as Google itself. The search engine’s google.com domain was registered in September 1997 and, less than a year later, just days before the company was officially incorporated, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin modified the site’s logo as a way of telling users they were out of office at the Burning Man Festival. More than 2,000 Doodles have since followed.

Image: Google via AFP Relaxnews

Google put its first international Doodle online July 14, 2000, to celebrate France’s Bastille Day. More and more Doodles followed, marking events such as the 226th birthday of the ornithologist and naturalist, John James Audubon or to celebrate the ice cream sundae.

Over the years, Google Doodles have become more sophisticated, with animations (like for Halloween 2000), interactive games (e.g., the 30th anniversary of PAC-MAN) and videos (e.g., 122nd birthday of Charlie Chaplin). In 2018, Google even released its first virtual reality Doodle, celebrating George Méliès.

Browse the Google Doodle archive through this link. JB

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