Google Doodles provide millions of people with a little 'ahhh' moment when they open their web browser. For some people they provide momentary relief from the daily grind, while others can find themselves researching the origins and uses of falafel for hours on end.
The doodles are so popular that they've become ingrained in our online culture. Not only do they pay homage to everything from key events to fictitious characters but some have evolved to become full fledged games in their own right. Who can forget the time a doodle turned Google into a Rubik's Cube? Or even better, Pac-Man.
Not many people give a thought to where these innovative bits of design come from and why they even exist. But we've decided to give the humble Google doodles the respect they deserve by learning everything from how many have been created so far to the controversy surrounding them. Here's what we've learned so far.
What is a Google doodle?
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Google describe their doodles as: "the fun, surprising and sometimes spontaneous changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries and the lives of famous artists, pioneers and scientists."
How did the idea for doodles originate?
In 1998, the concept of the doodle was born when Google founders Larry and Sergey played with the corporate logo to show that they'd be out of the office and the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. It was a very crude design, but the idea soon caught on. Two years later in 2000, Larry and Sergey asked current webmaster Dennis Hwang, an intern at the time, to produce a doodle for Bastille Day. Google users loved it so much that Dennis was promoted to Google's chief doodler which meant they could roll them out more regularly.
What events do they make doodles for?
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The doodles mainly celebrated more familiar holidays, but they're now used to highlight a number of diverse topics including the Women's World Cup 2019 and falafel.
How many doodles have been done?
The team at Google have created over 2,000 doodles so far and have no intention of stopping anytime soon.
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Who designs the doodles?
Now Dennis Hwang is the webmaster over at Google, he doesn't have the time to take on the role of doodler as well. That's left to a team of illustrators (called doodlers) and engineers.
Can you submit any ideas for doodles?
According to Google, the doodle team is always excited to hear ideas from users - and they have a specific email you can use to get in touch - [email protected].
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Controversy
Earlier this year, PETA took offense to a doodle celebrating what would have been the late Steve Irwin's 57th birthday.
PETA shot back at Google, arguing that it sent a 'dangerous' message.
#SteveIrwin was killed while harassing a ray; he dangled his baby while feeding a crocodile & wrestled wild animals who were minding their own business. Today's #GoogleDoodle sends a dangerous, fawning message. Wild animals are entitled to be left alone in their natural habitats. https://t.co/9JfJiBhGLw - PETA - #EndSpeciesism (@peta) https://twitter.com/peta/status/109899295964980838... 22, 2019 src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8">
It did seem that the majority of people were on the side of the doodle, with many pointing out Irwin's various contributions to animal conservation.
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Love them or loathe them, Google doodles are here to stay and we can't wait to see what they conjure up next.
Featured Image Credit: Google
Topics: Google, Food, Phones and Gadgets, Funny, Interesting, Google Doodle
