For the vast majority of users, Google truly is the main page of the internet. It’s the starting point from which we travel whenever we log on to a browser. No offence to Bing, Yahoo or… AskJeeves (RIP Jeevesy, old boy), but Google really is the only choice when it comes to a search engine. Not only is it a well-designed and easily accessible site, but it’s also full of fun finds, hidden features and secret easter eggs.
Every so often these will appear on social media feeds as a surprise, but we’ve collated some of the best ones we’ve noticed that (at time of writing) are live on the site. We’ve also added a bonus from the Google Chrome browser, and even one from Google Sheets!
Sonic the Hedgehog
Our first fun easter egg happens when you search “Sonic the Hedgehog” (pro-tip: you might have to add “Google” at the end of some of these to get the easter eggs to work). If you see a little info box about the videogame series, there should be a little retro Sonic icon next to his name. He will occasionally move, laying down after you’ve been on the page for a while. Click on him to get him to spin, and click over and over for him to turn into his Super Sonic form! This also works if you search “sonic the hedgehog game", "green hill zone" or ''sonic”.
Askew
This one is a textbook Google easter egg. Search the word “askew” or "dutch angle" to see the Google page in a non-straight or level position. It’s not completely wonky, just a little bit… askew.
Barrel Roll
Warning: this one’s not for those who suffer from motion sickness. Type in “do a barrel roll” and watch as the Google search page spins around 360 degrees.
Interestingly, it seems from searching around that you used to be able to ask it multiple times, such as “do a barrel roll twice” or “do a barrel roll twenty times”, but this no longer appears to be the case. Honestly, we’re pretty glad – just once had us feeling a bit queasy.
Eclipse
Searching for “Total Eclipse 2024” will make an eclipse happen on your screen! We wonder how many times a day Bonnie Tyler searches this one.
Cha Cha Slide
This has got to be our all-time favourite Google easter egg. Searching for the greatest floorfiller this side of the millennium will bring up a sparkly microphone. Clicking it will play the first dance move, and clicking each subsequent image will play the next move through the chorus with a screen animation. This easter egg was temporarily removed to pay respect to the legend himself, DJ Casper’s passing in 2023; however, it has since returned - an incredible legacy we’ll never forget.
Asteroid
Searching for “meteorite”, “chicxulub”, “chicxulub asteroid” or “DART asteroid” will cause an asteroid to fall from the top left of the results page, crashing to the bottom right and shaking the screen. Similarly, searching “meteor shower” will cause three meteors to fall from top left to bottom right.
Conway’s Game of Life
British mathematician John Horton Conway devised this “cellular automaton” zero-player game in 1970, and searching for it on Google will bring up a version of the game in the background, which you can interact with. For more information on the game, click here (or search it on Google!)
Comic Sans & Other, Lesser Fonts
View Google in the much loved and even more hated typeface when you search for “Comic Sans”, “Geocities” (the classic site overrun with Comic Sans), or “best font ever”. This also works for a number of fonts, including Times New Roman and Trebuchet MS, as well as Verdana, Tahoma, Georgia, Impact, Calibri, Cambria, and Courier when you add “font” in at the end. Maybe this works for Arial too - we’ll never know, as that’s the default.
Pacman
Google Doodles are an iconic part of Google’s legacy. The Google Doodle is the art on the Google homepage and stands in place of the classic Google logo. For as long as we can remember, the doodle changes each day, with a different artist creating the image, or it representing a certain holiday or event (the full Google logo history is accessible here, by the way). Occasionally, these will become interactive, with secret ways to interact with it. The Pacman Google Doodle was one of these, and can still be played today by searching for “Google Pacman”.
The game comes with the same nostalgic music and assets, and all of the iconic ghost villains. The board is shaped into a retro arcade version of the Google logo, and is a fully playable version of the game. What’s your high score?
Play Snake
Similarly, Google has a fully playable version of the classic Snake video game (which, we will warn you, gets pretty addictive) that you can access from searching “Play Snake”. Instead of a retro version of the snake game, this playable easter egg has a more modern, cartoony design reminiscent of Javascript games you used to play in IT lessons as a kid (you know the ones that you did instead of work? You were a real one, Miniclip).
While pretty simplistic at first, the game has cute chiming sounds when you tap the arrow keys to move your snake across the screen. The real fun happens once you lose, though, and gain full access to the settings menu. You can switch between twenty different kinds of food for the snake to eat (or select the fruit bowl to have a mix!), cycle through crazy different game modes including a board that makes the snake fall through a hole every time it eats, increase the amount of food on the board, change the snake’s colour, speed up or slow down the game, and even have an endless board. They really cater to every kind of Snake player!
Drop Bear
If you’ve ever been to Oz, you’ll know all about the very real and very terrifying drop bear. Searching for one on Google and clicking the danger icon will cause one to fall from the sky and hurtle down the results page.
Flyana Boss
The hip hop duo famous for their viral TikTok hit “You Wish” (hello Christ? I’m ‘bout to sin again) have their own custom Google page! Two women runner emojis representing members Folayan and Bobbi LaNea will run across the screen.
Googly Eyes
A sneaky little one, this causes two googly eyes to sneak down and replace the “o”s of Google in the top left corner.
Isaac Newton
Before him, we were just floating around space, and then he invented gravity (or mavity, depending on where you’re at). To commemorate this incredible feat, when you search his name and click the little tree, an apple falls from the heavens.
Is Google Down?
Searching for this gives you a very resound and very redundant “No”. As long as Google’s not down, that is.
Get Flat Earthers Told
Searching for “is the earth flat”, “is the earth round” or “is the earth flat or round” will tell you that the earth is roughly a sphere.
K e r n i n g
Searching for “kerning” will turn all instances of the word “kerning” to have kerning. Kerning is when there is a space between every letter, like the word kerning above. Kerning. Kerning.
Friends
Could you be any more excited for this next one? Well, if you’re over how mainstream the TV show Friends has become, then yes. However, for those of us who still unapologetically love this comfort show despite how overhyped and flawed it is, then this is a really fun easter egg you can enjoy.
Search for any of the main six characters on the search engine and you’ll get a special interactive easter egg that relates to them. Searching for Ross Geller will allow you to click the sofa icon which will “PIVOT” the screen. Searching for his sister Monica will allow you to clean her name with a bucket and sponge until it shines. Rachel Green’s cartoon is a wig head wearing the iconic “Rachel” haircut, which links to a Google images page of the ‘do. Chandler Bing has a recliner seat that produces cartoons of his pet chick and duck. A Google search for Joey Tribbiani will bring up a pizza that starts an animation about how “Joey doesn’t share food”, and searching for Phoebe Buffay will cause her legendary Smelly Cat to walk around the screen.
If you couldn’t care less about the show, this paragraph was pretty useless to you. But we think it’s a really nice touch to commemorate the series’ 25th anniversary.
DVD Screensaver
This one’s a really cool one that’ll get you reminiscing about teenage sleepovers and waking up to the DVD player still being on. Simply Google “DVD Screensaver”, wait a few moments, and enjoy. You’re welcome.
Google in 1998
We know that we said the last one was really cool, but this easter egg is also really, really cool. Ever wanted to see what Google looked like in its first iteration? Simply search for “Google in 1998” and it’ll load a special edition version of Google from back in its heyday. The contrast between the two versions is crazy different!
Tomatoes
Ever heard of the Spanish festival of La Tomatina? If you haven’t, give it a Google. When you do, you’ll get to partake in the fun by clicking around the page.
Sooo Fetch
Searching for “mean girls”, “mean girls 2004” or “mean girls 2024” will allow you to turn the page pink and apply graphics inspired by the “burn book” on the screen. Searching for the underwhelming 2011 sequel “mean girls 2” does nothing.
Happy New Year!
Searching for “new year’s eve” or “new year’s eve 2024” (or any other year) will bring up a confetti cannon that makes a whole load of noise and fuss when clicked.
Perseverance
Also known as Percy (how cute), searching for this brings up the Mars rover Perseverance that flies over a cartoon Mars at the bottom of the page.
Easy as Pi
This one’s for the maths nerds. Searching “pi” will allow you to play a Simon-esque game where it tells you the next digit of pi and you have to retype it out. If anyone can beat our score, mind your business.
Cats & Dogs
If you’re as easily amused as this writer, you’ll love this next one. Searching for “puppy”, “puppies”, “dogs”, “canine”, “westminster dog show”, or “best in show” will bring up a button that allows dog paws to appear and bark as they leave a pawprint on the screen. The same happens for our feline friends if you search for “cat”. This one is a lot of fun.
Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit
Searching rabbit three times at once will have three emoji rabbits appear at the top of the screen and hop up and down. They’ll also stop if you click on them.
RRR
Searching for this 2022 Indian film brings up a motorbike and a horse emoji that runs across the screen, referencing two of the characters from the movie.
Tic Tac Toe
A simpler game than Snake and Pac-Man, but just as addictive and really fun! Type “Tic Tac Toe” into the search bar in order to play a customisable version of the game, with a difficulty setting and the option to go first or second for some really challenging play against the computer.
Google Birthday Surprise Spinner
This one is an amalgamation of some of Google’s previous easter eggs that otherwise wouldn’t be relevant. A “best of” if you will. Google search the term “Google Birthday Surprise Spinner” to view a wheel that lands on a random game, video or feature from Google’s past (including the aforementioned Tic Tac Toe, a Valentine’s Day easter egg, and more).
If you’re looking for some random zany fun, give this one a click and try out one of the multiple easter eggs that will undoubtedly waste a bucket load of time.
Define Anagram
This is another short but sweet one. Enter “define anagram” into the Google search bar and it’ll suggest an anagram of anagram. This one’s more meta than a Facebook rebrand.
Viral TV
Searching for “the last of us” or “cordyceps” will bring up a mushroom button, that when pressed infects the screen with fungus. Keep clicking and the mushrooms multiply!
Axolotl
Searching for axolotl or “lake xochimilco” brings up a yellow axolotl, as well as a game where you have to spot axolotls and take pictures of them.
I Purple You
Searching for BTS allows you to pop purple balloons, and ones with microphones in have a voice message from the members of BTS saying “I Purple You”.
Doctor Who
Clicking on the Tardis when this is searched allows you to unlock a game where you can play as the first eleven doctors.
Hip Hop
The boombox on this page allows you to view a short video about the history of hip hop, which also teaches you some DJing basics.
Instruments
Searching for several instruments, including “drums”, “violins” and “trombone”, features audio so you can hear what these instruments sound like.
Legally Blonde
Give the iconic movie “legally blonde” a search for an intro from Elle Woods herself, plus an animation of Bruiser the dog, and then watch the text on the page turn pink!
It’s a-Him, Mario!
Searching for Super Mario Bros brings up a “?” box, which, when clicked, gives you a coin with 200 points.
Bonus: Did You Mean…?
These next few are suggestions from Google Search that are also easter eggs:
- Host of the US gameshow Jeopardy, searching “alex trebek” will bring up “Did you mean: who is alex trebek” in reference to how the answers are formatted in the show.
- “Bruno Madrigal” will bring up “Did you mean: we don’t talk about bruno” referencing the song about the character in Disney’s Encanto.
- Searching for LGBTQ+ icon Chappell Roan will bring up “Did you mean: your favourite artist’s favourite artist”. This is in reference to how Chappell Roan markets herself.
- Princess Diaries fans - searching for “mia thermopolis” brings up her full name, “Did you mean: amelia mignonette thermopolis renaldi princess of genovia”.
- The iconic Olivia Newton-John brings up “Did you mean: the one that i want” when searched.
- The equally iconic Tina Turner brings up “Did you mean: simply the best” when searched.
- “Recursion” and “Groundhog Day” brings up “Did you mean:” and the exact same thing you searched, referencing the repetition of these terms.
- “Steamed hams” brings up “Did you mean: steamed clams” referencing the cult The Simpsons episode “22 Short Films About Springfield”.
- Searching “the one ring” brings up “Did you mean: my precioussss”, referencing Gollum’s classic line in Lords of the Rings.
- “war in ba sing se” brings up: “Did you mean: THERE IS NO War in ba sing se”, referencing the denial of war in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
- Searching for the spell “wingardium leviosa” from Harry Potter brings up “Did you mean: win gar dium levi ohhh sa” in reference to how Hermione corrects Ron in the series.
- “World’s best boss” brings up “Did you mean: michael scott”, referencing The Office.
Bonus #2: Dinosaur Game
This one’s for those of us with shoddy internet (we’ve been there – there were some dark days in our old office). If you’re a Google Chrome desktop browser user, next time you lose your internet connection, you’ll have an opportunity to play the Dinosaur Game (also known as the Chrome Dino). When you hit the offline page with an image of the pixelated dinosaur, tap the space bar to start playing the game.
It’s another strangely addictive one, and it should keep you going until your technician has fixed the wifi connection. And if you don’t have the browser, no drama! You can search for it on Google games.
Bonus #3: Pride
And finally, a wholesome bonus one for those of us who a) believe #loveislove and b) spend their entire working lives on Google Sheets (copywriting hive rise).
Simply type the individual letters “PRIDE” into columns 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E and watch your spreadsheet turn into a rainbow flag! What’s cool is that you can turn any tab into a colourful rainbow without affecting your edited cells.
Anddddd, Breathe…
If all these have got you in a bit of a panic, searching for “breathing exercise” will bring up a one-minute breathing exercise you can take part in.
Since its inception in the nineties, Google has gone from the biggest name in search engine land to one of the biggest and most powerful companies in the world. It’s hard to believe that the same page we use every day is also behind the way we get our directions, our speakers and our mobile phones.
These are only a few of the hundreds of Google easter eggs that can be found, not only in their search results, but on Chrome, Google Translate, Google Maps and more. Have you found any other easter eggs that aren’t mentioned here? Let us know – we love geeking out over this stuff!
Meanwhile, if you want your brand to be the star of a Google search, DMT can help you with your pay-per-click advertising, as well as paid social, email marketing and more. Get in touch with us – we’re a lovely bunch!
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