Another Google Easter Egg? Chinese Page is Very Fishy
By Todd Wasserman on Mashable
Google‘s Chinese landing page is great if you’re looking to make some waves. But if you’re looking to actually do some searches, you may want to cast your net elsewhere.The page is pretty useless for searching. If you try to do a search in English, related images drop from the top of the screen and weigh the search bar down. If you opt for the “I feel lucky” button, you get gold Google coins.
While Google reps couldn’t be reached for comment, the page appears to be a solution of sorts for Google China — which is not functional in that country.
In the past, Google automatically directed Chinese users to the search giant’s Hong Kong page. In 2010, Google announced it would stop doing that after the Chinese government threatened to take away Google’s license to operate in China.
So what’s up with this site? Veiled protest or just another example of Google’s droll humor? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Enter "Google Gravity" in the search bar. Hit "I'm feeling lucky" (if you have Google Instant enabled, it's on the right hand side of the suggested searches). Then watch your world fall down.
Simply search for the word "askew." We dare you not to tilt your head.
Search for the Walker Texas Ranger star, hit I'm Feeling Lucky, and Google will school you in Norrisology.
Searching for ASCII art -- the kind built out of characters -- is about the nerdiest thing you can do. Google salutes you with a special logo.
Here's one for word nerds and philosophy majors. Search for "recursion" and Google asks "did you mean recursion?"
This one started life as an April Fool's joke, but is still around at google.com/mentalplex. Baffle your less Internet-savvy family and friends!
The Google doodle that launched a thousand lost hours of productivity will live forever at google.com/pacman.
Here's where Google easter eggs start to get a little more complex. Go to Google Reader, then use your cursor keys thus: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A. A ninja then pops onto your screen and into your search box. Thankfully, this still works in the new version of Google Reader.
Set your iGoogle homepage to the beach theme. Wait until 3:14am (or if you can't, just move your clock forward). What monster this way comes? Could we be on the shores of Loch Ness?
This one began life as an easter egg, and became so well-loved that Google incorporated it as a feature in Google Earth. Click on Tools > Enter Flight Simulator, and you're off and flying around the planet. Bon voyage!
