26 Surprising Facts About Google
Like many companies in Silicon Valley, Google has its own famous folklore that helps explain the culture and identity behind the technology giant. From secrets to idiosyncrasies, this infographic rounds up 26 crazy facts that you likely did not know about Google.
The company was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. This part you know, but did you know that the original name of the search engine was “Backrub”? Later on, it was changed to the mathematical term “googol” which is a large number equal to a 1 followed by 100 zeroes. However, when an investor misspelled it on a cheque as “Google”, the name stuck.
In 2006, the name was also added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as a word meaning “Search for information about (someone or something) on the Internet using the search engine Google”.
Other interesting tidbits:
- Everyone is familiar with the Google doodles, but the first one was done when Larry and Sergey went to Burning Man festival in Nevada. It was intended as an “out of office” message to indicate they wouldn’t be able to provide tech support if something went wrong on the site
- The Google logo used to have a Yahoo-like exclamation point until 2001
- Google has averaged acquiring a company a week since 2010
- Google acquired Youtube after a series of meetings at Denny’s
Original graphic from: Who Is Hosting This?
