Google’s April Fools’ Day Pranks
The people at Google love a good joke, and, with the exception of 2001 and 2003, they never missed an opportunity to participate in a good old-fashioned April Fools’ Day prank. Here’s a summary of Google’s April 1st shenanigans through the years:
2000: Google MentalPlex™
This first prank was the announcement of Google’s newest search technology, MentalPlex™, which delivered search results by reading the user’s mind. Google lists the criteria used in calculating MentalPlex™ results:
- the last 5 sites you visited before coming to Google
- current air pressure, humidity and ozone content
- astrological configuration at the time of your visit
- speed and vectors of your mouse movement
- personal aura and brainwave activity
2002: PigeonRank™
Google reveals the technology behind their search results, PigeonRank™, a system for ranking web pages which involves the use of trained domestic pigeons pecking on keyboards.
2004: Google Copernicus Center
A call for engineering and research job applicants to staff Google’s new lunar offices, Google Copernicus Hosting Environment and Experiment in Search Engineering (G.C.H.E.E.S.E.). To entice candidates, Google promised “soy low-fat lattes, The Sopranos and a steady supply of oxygen”.
Also on April 1st, 2004, a Google press release announced that they had launched Gmail (in Beta). Many thought this was also a hoax. Skeptics found it hard to believe that there could be a free email service that offered 1 gigabyte of storage, and were pleasantly surprised that Gmail was, in fact, real.
2005: Google Gulp™
Google announces the Google Gulp (BETA)™ with Auto-Drink™ (LIMITED RELEASE), a fruity and refreshing “line of smart drinks designed to maximize your surfing efficiency by making you more intelligent, and less thirsty.”
2006: Google Romance™
Google jumps on the online dating bandwagon in 2006, but with a twist. Users could fill out a profile and then do a Soulmate Search™. After that, Google would send you on a Contextual Date™ which they “pay for while delivering to you relevant ads that we and our advertising partners think will help produce the dating results you’re looking for.”
2007: Gmail Paper
Google introduces a paper “snail mail” option for Gmail. Users who miss getting postal mail can request a paper version of all of their emails and attachments, printed and packed by Google. A Gmail Paper testimonial:
“Gmail Paper is a scrapbooker’s dream. I paper archive all of my son’s emails, cut them out in creative shapes, and paste them in my binders.”
2008: Google TiSP
TiSP stands for Toilet Internet Service Provider. Using the catch-phrase, “Want WiFi around? Just flush it down”, Google promised an easy-to-install and free wireless broadband service delivered through your commode. Their self-installation kit included a setup guide, fiber-optic cable, spindle, wireless router and installation CD.
In 2008, Google dished out April Fools’ pranks through some of their other services, including AdSense for Conversations, which was announced on the AdSense blog. With this service, Google could host contextual ads relating to your conversations in a clickable screen that would appear above your head.
YouTube, owned by Google, had their first April Fools’ prank in 2008. Users clicking on any of the home page featured videos were “Rickrolled” with a surprise viewing of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up“. Looking forward to seeing what Google can come up with for 2009.
