Google may be a multi-billion dollar company, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have fun. Since the company was founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page in 1997, they’ve risen to dominate the world of Internet search and kept huge smiles on their faces throughout the process.
The Early Days
Let’s start with some funny facts about Google’s origins, which helped them steal a march on their competition, albeit unintentionally.
One of the things we all love about Google is the clean interface we’re greeted with when we go to the homepage. Many people think that this was a conscious decision they made to maximize usability, but it was actually came about because the co-founders didn’t know any HTML.
And you could even say that the Google Doodle Phenomenon had accidental origins. It was essentially a way forBernand Page to tell visitors they were out of the office at the Burning Man Festival. Changing the logo temporarily let them know that they wouldn’t be able to address any technical issues until they returned.
April Fools’ Day
Since 2000 it’s become a company tradition to create a few hoaxes on April Fools’ Day. Their very first was the invention of a fictitious mental image search feature that presented funny error messages to the users that tried it. For example one error message read – ‘Query is unclear. Remove glasses, hat and shoes then try again’!
Other April Fools’ Day hoaxes have seen Google advertise for research posts based on the moon and launch a new service called Google Romance which invited users to conduct a ‘Soulmate Search’.
Googleplex
The company’s head office in California, known as “Googleplex”, is brilliantly quirky and it would be impossible to work there without having loads of fun.
They’re a dog-friendly company and have put a formal dog policy in place. Essentially it states that all employers are allowed to bring their dogs to work and warns that although cats are welcome they’ll probably be pretty stressed out.
They’ve also come up with a novel solution for keeping their grass nice and short. Every year they bring in approximately 200 goats to eat the grass and “fertilize” the land. They’re kept in line by a border collie called Jen and the whole process doesn’t cost any more than it would to hire a team of gardeners to mow the area.
And it’s not just the goats who stay well-fed. Another company policy is that no employee should have to work in an area that is more than 100 feet away from some food. For this reason you’ll find well-stocked kitchens and vending machines across the whole complex.
About the author: Bobby Johnson loves to laugh. He works as a copywriter for a Find Me A Gift, a funny gifts retailer from the United Kingdom.