Hello, April 1st. During this day, people laugh a lot, and Google has a reputation for pulling off some of the most renowned practical jokes on the internet. Over the years, these pranks have left people laughing, from Pac-Man invading Google Maps to the fictitious Google Nose that detects scents.
With “The YouTube Collection,” which promised to have every video on DVD—a staggering 175 trucks’ worth—YouTube had us rolling in 2012. Then, in 2015, Google Maps allowed users to eat dots on the streets, transforming it into a Pac-Man playground.
But there’s still more! Google Nose teased us with smell-o-vision searches in 2013, while Chromercise, a fitness programme designed for online surfers, debuted in 2011. And who could forget the 2008 rickrolling craze, in which YouTube pulled a brilliant prank on the internet by tricking everyone with an old Rick Astley video?
But Google’s greatest joke was Google TiSP, which offered free internet by flushing a fiber-optic cable down the toilet in 2009. The toilet, yes you read that correctly! Even though TiSP was a joke, it showed the ridiculous lengths individuals would go to in order to get faster internet.
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Google has created unforgettable jokes that have reached a global audience. 2019 saw the release of the bending spoon keyboard by Google Japan, which features flex sensors for character selection. How about thinking creatively?
So let’s take a look back at Google’s biggest hits as April Fools’ Day draws near. The laughter from earlier years endures in the annals of internet history, even though the search engine behemoth may have taken a vacation from practical jokes.