50 Fun Facts About Google

In what year was Google founded?

Google was founded on September 4, 1998, by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University.

Who co-founded Google alongside Larry Page?

Sergey Brin co-founded Google with Larry Page. Both were Ph.D. students at Stanford University when they created the search engine.

What was Google's original name when Larry Page and Sergey Brin first developed the search engine?

Google was originally called BackRub because the system checked backlinks to estimate the importance of a site. It was renamed to Google in 1997.

The name 'Google' is a play on what mathematical term?

The name Google is a play on 'googol,' the mathematical term for the number 1 followed by 100 zeros, reflecting the founders' mission to organize a seemingly infinite amount of information.

At which university did Larry Page and Sergey Brin meet and develop Google?

Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford University in 1995 as Ph.D. students in computer science, where they developed the search engine that became Google.

What was Google's first office location?

Google's first office was the garage of Susan Wojcicki's house in Menlo Park, California. Wojcicki later became CEO of YouTube.

Who was Google's first CEO before Eric Schmidt took over in 2001?

Larry Page served as Google's first CEO from its founding in 1998 until 2001, when Eric Schmidt was brought in as CEO to provide more experienced leadership.

In what year did Google go public with its IPO?

Google went public on August 19, 2004, with an initial share price of 5. The IPO raised .67 billion, giving Google a market capitalization of 3 billion.

What was Google's IPO stock price per share in 2004?

Google's IPO price was 5 per share on August 19, 2004. The company used a Dutch auction process for its IPO, which was unusual at the time.

Google's famous PageRank algorithm was named after what?

PageRank was named after Larry Page, one of Google's co-founders. The algorithm ranks web pages based on the number and quality of links pointing to them.

In what year did Google launch Gmail?

Gmail launched on April 1, 2004. Many people initially thought it was an April Fools' joke because it offered 1 GB of free storage, which was far more than competitors at the time.

How much free storage did Gmail famously offer at launch in 2004?

Gmail offered 1 GB of free storage at launch, which was 100 times more than Hotmail's 2 MB and 500 times more than Yahoo Mail's initial offering. This was revolutionary at the time.

How much did Google pay to acquire YouTube in 2006?

Google acquired YouTube in October 2006 for approximately .65 billion in stock. It is now one of the most visited websites in the world and a major revenue driver for Google.

What year was Google Maps launched?

Google Maps launched on February 8, 2005, as a web-based mapping service. It was originally developed by Danish brothers Lars and Jens Rasmussen at a startup called Where 2 Technologies, which Google acquired in 2004.

What is the name of Google's web browser, launched in 2008?

Google Chrome was launched on September 2, 2008. It has since become the most widely used web browser in the world, holding over 60% of the global browser market share.

What mobile operating system does Google develop?

Google develops Android, the world's most widely used mobile operating system. Google acquired Android Inc. in 2005, and the first Android phone was released in 2008.

What was the name of Google's social networking platform that shut down in 2019?

Google+ (Google Plus) was launched in 2011 as a competitor to Facebook but failed to gain widespread adoption. It was shut down for consumers on April 2, 2019, after a data security bug was discovered.

Google Translate supports approximately how many languages as of 2024?

As of 2024, Google Translate supports approximately 133 languages. The service was launched in April 2006 and initially only translated between English and Arabic.

What is the name of Google's cloud computing platform?

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is Google's suite of cloud computing services. It competes with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, and was launched in 2008.

What Google product lets users explore the world through street-level panoramic imagery?

Google Street View, launched in 2007, provides interactive panoramic street-level imagery. It started with coverage of five US cities and now covers millions of miles of roads worldwide.

In what year did Google restructure under the parent company Alphabet Inc.?

Alphabet Inc. was created on October 2, 2015, as a holding company for Google and its various subsidiaries. Larry Page became CEO of Alphabet, while Sundar Pichai became CEO of Google.

What is the name of Google's headquarters campus in Mountain View, California?

Google's headquarters is called the Googleplex, a portmanteau of 'Google' and 'complex.' It is located at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, California.

What is Google's unofficial corporate motto that guided the company for years?

Google's unofficial motto was 'Don't be evil,' coined by Googler Paul Buchheit. When Alphabet was created in 2015, its code of conduct used 'Do the right thing' instead.

What happens when you search 'do a barrel roll' on Google?

Typing 'do a barrel roll' into Google Search causes the entire page to perform a 360-degree spin. This Easter egg is a reference to the Nintendo game Star Fox, where Peppy Hare tells you to 'Do a barrel roll!'

What classic game can you play by searching 'Pac-Man' on Google?

Google created a playable Pac-Man game as a Google Doodle in 2010 to celebrate the game's 30th anniversary. It was so popular that Google made it permanently accessible.

What dinosaur game can you play in Chrome when you have no internet connection?

The T-Rex Runner (also known as the Chrome Dino game) is an offline game built into Google Chrome. When you lose internet, pressing the spacebar on the 'No internet' page starts the game where a T-Rex jumps over cacti.

What is the name of Alphabet's life sciences research subsidiary?

Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) is Alphabet's life sciences subsidiary. It focuses on using technology to improve health outcomes. Calico is a separate Alphabet subsidiary focused on aging and longevity research.

In what city is Google's headquarters located?

Google's headquarters (the Googleplex) is located in Mountain View, California, at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in the heart of Silicon Valley.

What are the six colors in the Google logo (in order from left to right)?

The Google logo uses six colors in order: Blue (G), Red (o), Yellow (o), Blue (g), Green (l), Red (e). The pattern follows primary colors but notably breaks the pattern with two blues.

What is the name of the Google employee perk of free gourmet meals?

Google is famous for its free gourmet cafes (Google Cafes), which serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner to employees. The tradition started with Google's first company cook, Charlie Ayers, who was previously a chef for the Grateful Dead.

Which AI research lab did Google acquire in 2014 for approximately $500 million?

Google acquired DeepMind Technologies, a London-based AI company, in January 2014 for approximately $500 million. DeepMind later created AlphaGo, which defeated the world champion in the game of Go.

What navigation app did Google acquire in 2013 for over $1 billion?

Google acquired Waze, the Israeli navigation and traffic app, in June 2013 for approximately $1.1 billion. Waze continues to operate as a separate app alongside Google Maps.

What hardware company did Google acquire in 2012 for $12.5 billion, primarily for its patent portfolio?

Google acquired Motorola Mobility in 2012 for $12.5 billion, primarily to gain its extensive patent portfolio to help protect Android from litigation. Google later sold Motorola to Lenovo in 2014 for $2.91 billion but kept most patents.

What was the name of Google's AI chatbot launched in 2023 to compete with ChatGPT?

Google launched Bard in March 2023 as its conversational AI chatbot to compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT. Bard was later rebranded to Gemini in February 2024.

What does the first Google Doodle (1998) depict?

The first Google Doodle appeared on August 30, 1998, featuring a Burning Man stick figure behind the second 'o' in Google. Larry Page and Sergey Brin added it to indicate they were attending the Burning Man festival in Nevada.

Approximately how many Google Doodles have been created since 1998?

Google has created over 5,000 Doodles since the first one in 1998. They celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and famous historical figures from around the world, and are created by a dedicated team of Doodlers.

What is Google's primary source of revenue?

Advertising is Google's primary revenue source, accounting for approximately 80% of Alphabet's total revenue. Google Ads (formerly AdWords) and the Google Display Network are the main advertising platforms.

What was the name of Google's smart glasses project announced in 2012?

Google Glass was announced in 2012 and released as an Explorer Edition in 2013. The augmented reality glasses featured a head-mounted display but faced privacy concerns and were eventually discontinued for consumers, though an Enterprise Edition continued.

What is the name of Google's line of smartphones?

Google's line of smartphones is called Pixel, launched in 2016. Before Pixel, Google had the Nexus line of devices (2010-2015) which were manufactured by various partners. Pixel phones are designed by Google with a focus on camera quality and pure Android.

Which company did Google acquire in 2006 that became Google Docs (now Google Workspace)?

Google acquired Writely, a web-based word processor, in March 2006. It became the foundation for Google Docs, which later evolved into Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), including Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

Who is the current CEO of Google (as of 2024)?

Sundar Pichai has been the CEO of Google since October 2015 and also became the CEO of Alphabet Inc. in December 2019. He previously led the development of Google Chrome and Chrome OS.

What self-driving car project spun out of Google in 2016?

Waymo (a portmanteau of 'Way forward in Mobility') was spun out of Google's Self-Driving Car Project in December 2016 as a standalone Alphabet subsidiary. It operates a commercial robotaxi service in several US cities.

What year did Google's search index first reach 1 billion web pages?

Google's search index reached 1 billion web pages in June 2000, making it the most comprehensive search engine at the time. By comparison, when Google launched in 1998, it indexed about 26 million pages.

What is the name of Google's programming language designed for systems programming, released in 2009?

Go (also known as Golang) was designed at Google by Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson. It was announced in November 2009 and is known for its simplicity, efficiency, and strong support for concurrency.

What is the maximum length of a standard YouTube video for unverified accounts?

Unverified YouTube accounts can upload videos up to 15 minutes long. Once you verify your account by confirming your phone number, you can upload videos up to 12 hours or 256 GB, whichever is less.

What was the codename of Google's AI system that defeated the world champion at the board game Go in 2016?

AlphaGo, developed by Google's DeepMind, defeated South Korean Go champion Lee Sedol 4-1 in March 2016. This was considered a landmark achievement in AI because Go is significantly more complex than chess.

What Google Easter egg appears when you search for 'askew' or 'tilt'?

When you search for 'askew' or 'tilt' on Google, the entire search results page tilts slightly to the right, as if it's off-kilter. It's one of many fun Easter eggs hidden in Google Search.

What is the name of Google's smart home device line, originally called Google Home?

Google rebranded its smart home devices under the Nest brand (from the Nest Labs acquisition in 2014). The original Google Home speaker became the Nest Audio, and the product line includes Nest Hub, Nest Mini, and Nest Wifi.

How many daily searches does Google process as of 2024?

Google processes approximately 8.5 billion searches per day as of 2024, which translates to roughly 99,000 searches every second. This makes it by far the most-used search engine in the world.

What is the name of Google's quantum computing processor that claimed 'quantum supremacy' in 2019?

Google's Sycamore processor achieved what Google called 'quantum supremacy' in October 2019, performing a calculation in 200 seconds that would have taken the world's fastest supercomputer approximately 10,000 years.