Back on September 4, 1998, two students who met at Stanford University, California, incorporated their creation as a privately held company.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin had created Google. Admittedly, they'd been designing a search engine called BackRub since 1996 but decided to scrap that name and go for Google instead - a play on the term 'googol' which is a mathematical term for 1, followed by 100 zeros.
Anyway, since that day, Google has gone on to become synonymous with almost every aspect of life as we know it.
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Sergey Brin, left, and Larry Page, right. Credit: PA
Got a question? Google it. Got a problem you can't solve? Google it. Can't remember the date of something important? Google it, Google it, Google it, Google it.
A company has become a fucking verb for fuck's sake. That says a lot about just how much it has integrated itself into our lives.
If you hadn't already noticed, today is also September 4th, which means it is Google's 18th birthday.
And what better way to celebrate than taking a look at Google's first ever homepage. I don't think any Internet user today will remember this...
Credit: Google
Anyone else surprised by the fact, you know, it's actually not all that different? It's just sort of... from a different time.
I mean, compare it to what the Google homepage is today...
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Credit: Google
See what I mean? The current one is just a shiny, modern version.
I personally think that says a lot about the product Larry Page and Sergey Brin brought to the world back in 1998.
Most other Internet phenomenons have to change the way they operate or the services they provide to stay relevant but Google, and what it's most well-known for, has barely had to change at all in almost two decades. That's impressive.
Google is now a subsidiary of the parent company Alphabet but it'll always be their flagship product.
Here's to 18 more useful years! Happy birthday Google.
Featured image credit: PA
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Google