Google is a company that has changed the world. It’s not just a search engine, it’s more like an all-knowing oracle that can answer any question you have.
Are you curious about the world’s largest search engine and the tech giant that is Google? We all use Google for school assignments, business projects, and everyday search results, but how much do you really know about the company and the web of products and services it provides?
Let’s take a look at some interesting facts about Google!
Interesting Facts About Google
- Google is a company that was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin on September 4, 1998. They are widely credited as the pioneers of internet search engines, having created the world’s most used search engine, Google. Google’s mission was to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
- Google was created by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were still Ph.D. students at Stanford University in 1996. They initially called their new search engine ‘BackRub’. In 1997 they realized how powerful this technology could be so they dropped out of school to pursue their business full-time. The rest is history! It rebranded as Google in 1998 and now it’s one of the largest companies in the world with over 100,000 employees worldwide.
- Google’s name was inspired by the word “googol,” coined by mathematician Edward Kasner in 1938. A googol is an incredibly large number – it’s one followed by one hundred zeroes.
- In its early days, Google had the capacity to process between 30-50 pages every second. With today’s technology, Google can process millions of pages per second.
- Did you know that Google uses goats to maintain their lawn? In 2009, they brought 200 goats from California Grazing to their Mountain View headquarters. This was an excellent alternative to traditional gasoline-powered lawnmowers because the goats are much lighter on the environment and drought liability. The goats are able to graze on the grasses, keeping the lawns neat and tidy without the need for gasoline-powered machines.
- Google is known for creating fun and exciting ways to celebrate important moments and occasions. Google Doodles originated in 1998 when the company created a simple “out-of-office” message that showed a man standing behind the letter “O”. Since then, these doodles have become an iconic way to commemorate holidays, anniversaries, and other significant events. Google often uses doodles to educate people about lesser-known holidays or individuals who have made an impact on the world.
- Klingon, a language invented for use in the science fiction franchise Star Trek, was added to Google in 2002. It may not be a language that’s natively spoken, but it can be selected as an option to read other languages from the search engine’s interface.
- Google’s headquarters is a place of fun and surprise. Their unique and colorful decorations are not just for show; they have a purpose! For example, Google has its own phone boxes in different colors, one of them even being called Tubby (a joke about British Telecom). Additionally, you can find ball pits for adults to enjoy.
- Google is a verb meaning to search for information about someone or something on the internet using the Google search engine. This has been happening since 2006 when Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster added “Google”.
- Google is by far the most popular search engine as of December 2022, accounting for 84.08% of the total market share. This remarkable success is due to their comprehensive algorithms that are effective at providing users with the most relevant results for any given query.
- Google has many products, including Android, the powerful mobile operating system used by millions of people that powers many of the world’s most popular phones and tablets. Google also offers a wide range of applications like Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, and Google Drive.
- At Google, all new employees must wear hats of blue, yellow, and red – the colors of Google’s logo. This is to identify each individual’s role within the company and they are referred to as Nooglers. Wearing the hat is the first thing that new employees have to do when they join the company.
- YouTube was acquired by Google for $1.65 billion in 2006. The company has been acquiring new businesses each week on average!
- When Google was just an idea in the mind of Professor Susan Wojcicki, it began with ten 4GB hard drives and is now on display at Stanford University. The index has over 100 million gigabytes (GB) worth of data!
- When Google bought Motorola in 2011 for $12.5 billion, they were expecting the company to be healthy and profitable but it turned out differently when sales declined by unexpected amounts after just two years of owning such an esteemed brand name like theirs! They sold it for $2.5 billion.
- When a Google employee passes away, his or her wife receives half of the pay for ten years.
- In 1998, the Google homepage included an exclamation point! It is similar to the one in “Yahoo!”.
- The Google homepage used to be aligned on the right side of the page instead and is now centered.
- On August 16, 2013, Google went down for 5 minutes and during that time, global Internet usage dropped by 40%. This was a significant decrease, showing just how dependent the world is on Google services and products.
- Gmail, Google’s popular email service, was released on April 1st, 2004, the traditional day for pranks and jokes known as April Fool’s Day. The launch was not a prank, however, and Google has been providing its users with email and related services ever since.
Google changed the way we search and has become a globally recognized company that continues to innovate and grow. What other facts do you know about Google? Let us know in the comments!
