4/01/2009

Today's Google Prank

I wanted to share some of Google's April Fools jokes from the past. I'm not sure given the economic recession whether Google will produce a prank this year or not.  They might not want to be seen wasting company resources on frivolous stuff... or, maybe this is the perfect time to pull a prank ... when spirits are down.

Anyway, here's some of the best.

Google's "MentalPlex" search technology scanned your brainwave activity, browser history, current weather conditions, and mouse movement speed to figure out what Web site you were trying to get to. https://archive.google.com/mentalplex/

Google unveils the real way its pages are ranked: "the superior trainability of the domestic pigeon." Google says it gets its pigeons the old fashioned way -- off the street -- and insists that it's not cruel to animals. Like Google's famous employee perks -- meals and snacks of all varieties -- its pigeons get "delectable seeds and grains and feature the finest in European statuary for roosting." https://archive.google.com/pigeonrank/

Google advertises fictitious job openings on the moon at the Google Copernicus Hosting Environment and Experiment in Search Engineering (G.C.H.E.E.S.E.) https://www.april-fools-day.net/news/google-copernicus-center-is-hiring

Google Glup helps your search engine experience by making you think faster. https://archive.google.com/googlegulp/

Google Romance offered a "soulmate search" to send you on a "contextual date." You could also "Post multiple profiles with a bulk upload file, you sleaze. https://archive.google.com/romance/

Google introduced two pranks on April 1, 2007: Google TiSP (toilet Internet service provider) and Gmail Paper, which would allow Gmail users to add emails to a "Paper Archive." http://archive.google.com/tisp/index.html

And here is today's: https://www.gmail.com/mail/help/autopilot/