The Google Doodle is an artistic version of the Google logo. The year 2011 saw an increase in the number of more intricate Google Doodles being made. Google Doodle represent events like holidays, anniversaries, or current events. On September 27, 2011, Google also celebrated its 13th Birthday with a doodle.
Google posted 260 doodles in the year 2011, nominally higher than the 258 doodles that Google put up on its home page in 2010. Some of the doodles were limited to Google's country specific home pages while others appeared globally.[1]
All Google doodles are available at: http://www.google.com/logos/index.html
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A logo composed of excerpts from the inaugural speech of President John F. Kennedy, with Kennedy's bust in place of the lowercase "g," was placed on the Google home page to honor the 50th anniversary of his inauguration.[2]
On Google Czech Republic, two laughing bearded actors in Renaissance era dress replaced both G's in the logo, ostensibly to celebrate the birthday of Czech playwright Jan Werich.
To celebrate the 183rd birthday of science fiction author Jules Verne, the doodle featured an ocean scene viewed through the portholes of a submarine, which iPad and iPhone users can watch the water level move in any direction they wish.[3]
To celebrate the 164th birthday of Thomas Edison, the letters were changed to line drawings of a few of Edison's inventions, including a flickering lightbulb as the letter L.[4]
For Valentine's Day, the Google logo was redesigned in the style of the Love sculpture, moving away from the traditional Catull font for a day. When the mouse cursor is hovered over the design, a message says' Happy Valentine's Day from Google and Robert Indiana'.
The Google logo was a selection of major works of Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi to celebrate his 135th birthday.[5]
Google UK celebrated St David's Day by adding Pilgrim clothing to the 'g' in the Google logo.
The Google logo was a selection Will Eisner's works, moving away from the tradition Catull font and the traditional blue, red, orange, and green colors for a day.
Google Germany ran a logo in honor of the 40th anniversary of Die Sendung mit der Maus, an award-winning children's program.[6][7]
The Google logo was modified to celebrate International Women's Day with portraits of women featured as the "g", the "l", and the "e".
Google Hong Kong and Google Taiwan modified the Google logo by adding in trees to celebrate Arbor Day.
Google Thailand replaced the "g" in the logo with an elephant to celebrate National Elephant Day.
Google India modified the Google logo to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the movie Alam Ara, the first Indian movie with sound.
Google Hungary changed the Google logo to celebrate the anniversary Hungary's 1848 revolution.
Google Ireland modified the logo to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Also, on that day, Google Italy changed the Google logo to celebrate 150 years of the Unification of Italy. Also Google celebrated the birthday of Egyptian composer Sayed Darwish who was born on March 17, 1892[8]
Google India modified the logo into a multi-colored one to celebrate the Indian festival of Holi.[9]
Google changed their logo to celebrate the 137th birthday of Harry Houdini, the famed Hungarian-born American magician, stunt performer and escapologist.[10][11][12] The Harry Houdini "Google doodle" was the first to appear after Google received "a curious new patent up its sleeve": the "System and Method For Enticing Users To A Web Site," as approved by the US patent office.[12]
To celebrate the 400th birthday of Evliya Çelebi, Google Turkey changed the logo into a portrait featuring Evliya Çelebi and his horse.
To celebrate the 200th birthday of Robert Bunsen, the logo was changed to several chemistry-related apparatuses, including a Bunsen burner, a test tube and a round-bottom flask, removing the Catull font for a day. This animated doodle was also interactive, with the user's mouse varying the color of the flickering flame on the eponymous burner via horizontal movement, and controlling flame height via vertical movement. Flame height in turn controlled the boiling of liquids, simmering of a tea kettle, movement of liquids through the apparatus, and resultant mixing of the liquids.[13] The interactive animation only works on several browsers and builds, but not others.
The logo was changed to commemorate the 119th anniversary of the first documented ice cream sundae, replacing the Catull font with the Paramount logo font and removing the blue, red, orange and green colors for a day. The two "o"s were also replaced with two scoops of ice cream sitting in a cup.
Google Italy changed the logo on Italy Culture Week. An Italian castle replaces the G and L.
The logo was changed for the Peruvian elections in Peru. The second "o" was a square crossed out.
The logo was changed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first manned space flight and orbit by Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, replacing the Catull font with a Cyrillic-style font for a day.[14] The logo was in the style of a Soviet poster and featured an animated rocket blasting from the Earth. The two O's were the Earth and Gagarin's face, which could be seen looking up to the stars.[15]
The logo was changed for the 240th birthday of Richard Trevithick. It was made into an early steam train with the first G and the two O's as cogs, the second G as a boiler plate and the L and E as steam pipes.
A video was featured on the Google's homepage starring members of Google Doodle team enacting a Google-themed scene, honoring the filmmaker and actor, Charlie Chaplin on his 122nd birthday, replacing the Catull font with the font for the New York Times logo for two days.[16] This doodle remained live on Saturday, April 16, 2011.
The logo was changed for the 129th birthday of Monteiro Lobato. G and L are replaced by two of his creations: Emilia and Visconde de Sabugosa.
The logo was changed for the 41st anniversary of Earth Day, an initiative by US Senator Gaylord Nelson to inspire awareness for the Earth's natural environment. The logo featured a moving stream and waterfall and numerous types of trees and animals, including penguins on an iceberg, pandas eating bamboo sticks, a lion dozing, a frog, a bird,[17] a salmon leaping up the waterfall and a bear catching the salmon. By hovering the mouse cursor over the animals, the animals can be animated.[18]
Google UK added a knight and a horse to the left of the logo to celebrate St George's Day. Also, a dragon's tail was added, covering half of the Google logo.
Google changed the logo to celebrate the 226th birthday of John James Audubon, a naturalist, ornithologist and painter. The letters were made up from birds and tree branches, drawn in Audubon's style like in his book Birds of America.
Google changed the logo to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. This doodle remained live until 9:00 PM on that day.
Google changed the logo to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the First World's Fair.[19]
Google changed the logo to celebrate Mother's Day by replacing the 'l' with a purple flower and turning the entire logo purple. Also, the Catull font has been replaced with the Courier New font and the blue, red, orange and green colors have been removed for a day.
Google celebrated the 76th birthday of Roger Hargreaves, author of the Mr. Men and Little Miss series, by randomly displaying one of 16 different logos featuring the cartoonish version of the Google logo and one of Hargreaves' characters.[20]
Google celebrated the 117th birthday of Martha Graham, arguably the pioneer of modern dance. The Google logo is formed slowly by figures dancing in the style of modern dance. The logo animation was created by Ryan Woodward in collaboration with the Martha Graham Dance Company.[21]
Google celebrated the 92nd birthday of Richard Scarry, author of the Busytown series.
Google celebrated the 96th birthday of the late jazz and country guitarist Les Paul with an interactive guitar that can be played, and includes the ability to record and playback. One plays the guitar by using the computer's mouse, touchpad, or keyboard. Like the Pac-Man doodle before it, this doodle was given a permanent home at http://www.google.com/logos/2011/lespaul.html due to its popularity.
Google made a doodle for the Total Lunar Eclipse.[22]
The Google logo was replaced by a floral doodle designed by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami to celebrate the Summer solstice. A winter doodle called First Day of Winter to celebrate the Winter solstice, also designed by Murakami, is displayed on the southern hemisphere.[23]
The Google logo was replaced with an image of Saint Basil's Cathedral in place of regular Google logo to accolade 450th anniversary of Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, Russia.[24]
The Google logo was replaced with an assortment of peas in the shape of Google logo as a tribute to Austrian botanist and monk Gregor Mendel, the father of Genetics on his 189th birth anniversary.[25]
Google replaced its logo with a ‘mobile sculpture’ to commemorate artist Alexander Calder's 113th birthday.[26] When viewed with certain browsers, the doodle moves on its own (rather than a static image) and would be moved by the user's mouse cursor movements.[27]
Google dedicated his logo to Italian architect, painter and art historian Giorgio Vasari, on the 500th anniversary of his birth.[28]
Google replaced its logo with a vintage 50s-style television set to commemorate Lucille Ball's 100th birthday, removing the Catull font and the trademark colors for a day. Several clips of I Love Lucy could be viewed by turning the dial on the TV. [29]
Google replaced its logo with a green color, crescent and a star and minaret of Pakistan to celebrate 65th Independence Day Of Pakistan.[30]
Google India replaced its logo with a sketch of Delhi's Red Fort to celebrate 65th Independence Day of India. However, graphical representation of Indian tricolor was missing this time which was used since 2003.[31][32]
A doodle was made to commemorate the 410th birth anniversary of Pierre de Fermat, the founder of the modern theory of numbers. It consists of a chalkboard which previously has the Google logo, but most of it was erased to accommodate Fermat's Last Theorem; only the initial G is clearly visible. The tooltip that appears when the user places their mouse pointer over the doodle ("I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this theorem, which this doodle is too small to contain.") references the conjecture Fermat famously made on the margin of the Arithmetica.[33]
Google replaced its logo with a doodle to commemorate the 112th birthday of an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator Jorge Luis Borges. Doodle showed Borges standing in front of a complex scenery including a large library, a complex imaginary world inspired from his poems and stories.[34][35]
Google's logo was dedicated to Freddie Mercury,[36] lead singer of the British rock band Queen. The logo itself was made up of cartoon portraits of Mercury with a large 'play' button on top. When pressed, a short cartoon would play to the music of Don't Stop Me Now[37] showing Mercury and the band playing at a stadium to a large adoring crowd. Mercury then shoots into the sky, leaps off a cloud and rides a tiger which turns into a race car that he drives into space (being an almost literal representation of the lyrics to Don't Stop Me Now). The cartoon continues with Mercury wearing a crown and cape falling onto a throne surrounded by tigers and bicycle-riding bears. There is also a homage to the famous music video for the song I Want to Break Free, in which Mercury dressed up in drag (albeit still keeping possession of his moustache) and vacuuming a room of a house. After this is a scene of Mercury riding a bicycle into a hole and the video ends with Mercury touching back down on stage rejoining the rest of his band members as the Google logo appears on a black background behind him whilst the band, the surroundings and eventually Mercury fade away.[38]
Google's logo was replaced with a pair of Orange fruit and few other fruits in background to commemorate Albert Szent-Gyorgyi on his 118th birthday, removing the Catull font and the trademark colors for a day. Szent-Gyorgyi is credited with discovering vitamin C and the components and reactions of the citric acid cycle.[39][40]
Google International and Google India replaced its logo with a comic book style doodle featuring artist the Anant Pai, to commemorate his 82nd birth anniversary. The Doodle featured Uncle Pai sitting in his office, surrounded by shelves full of his own creations.[41] Two such pictures, one in which Uncle Pai is sitting and the other in which he is standing, form the doodle, with the writing of Google connecting the two.[42]
Google replaced its logo with 6 small adaptations of Muppets that interact via mouse, for honor of the 75th birthday of Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets. The Muppets resemble the shape of the letters and colours that make up the Google logo. The doodle is also interactive to represent puppeteering. Pressing a button below a Muppet would activate that Muppet. Clicking the mouse would cause the muppet to open their mouth while simply moving the mouse pointer causes the muppet's head to follow it. Furthermore, further clicking or moving of the mouse pointer causes more movements: The person representing the red O would shake his head and jerk his glasses up in the air while the small red monster would "eat" the long-necked green monster (representing the E and L respectively), only for both to reemerge moments apart.[43]
Google replaced its logo with a picture of the words Google! in the 1998-1999 logo's font, inside a house with party hats on three of the letters, at a table with a birthday cake and presents on it, surrounded by balloons. This was to mark Google's 13th birthday.[44][45]
Google Germany celebrated the national day of Germany (Day of German Unity) by adding the coats of each of the 16 federated states to the Google logo.
Google replaced its logo with animated clay humanoid figures, including Gumby, in honor of the 90th birthday anniversary of Art Clokey, creator of Gumby. On the onset, the doodle is composed of five clay balls in the Google colors placed beside a toy block with a G on it. Clicking any of the balls (or even the block) reveal the Blockheads, Prickle, Goo, Gumby himself, and Pokey.[46]
Google replaced its logo to commemorate the centennial anniversary of Mary Blair, who was an American artist best remembered today for work done for The Walt Disney Company, replacing the Catull font with a 1960s-style font for a day. [47] Doodle featured an image of an illustrator as Mary would have drawn herself, surrounded by the simplistic patterns and shapes that made up her familiar cartoon world.[48]
Google celebrated Halloween with six enormous pumpkins being carved in a time-lapse video by a series of Google employees. They are joined by a variety of costumed characters, other workers, and cleaners as the video shows the progress of the pumpkin carvings interspersed with other amusing activities. [49][50]
Google's logo was dedicated to honor two-time Nobel Prize physicist–chemist Marie Curie on her 144th birth anniversary. The doodle featured Curie, known for her pioneering research work on radioactivity, sitting among laboratory apparatus.[51][52][53]
Google UK celebrated Edmond Halley’s 355th Birthday. [54]
Google Japan celebrated Hideyo Noguchi’s 135th Birthday. [55]
Google India celebrated Children's Day. Google had earlier announced that it would put the winning Doodle 4 Google entry on the Google India homepage on the Children's Day. This competition was open to all students from Class I to Class X across the nation. The winning doodle featured Indian musical instruments created by 7-year old Varsha Gupta.[61][62]
Google celebrated Mikhail Lomonosov’s 300th Birthday.[68]
Google celebrated Lebanon Independence Day.[69]
Google celebrated Thanksgiving Day in the United States.[70]
Google celebrated the 60th anniversary of Stanislaw Lem’s first book publication.[71]
Google New Zealand's logo was depicted in a scene where the letters of Google were at a polling booth. This was for the 2011 New Zealand general election. [72]
Google replaced it's logo to commenarate the 176th anniversary of the birth of Mark Twain. The doodle featured a full-width illustration greeting web users, which depicts a famous scene from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.[73]
Google celebrated National Day of Romania.[74]
Google celebrated the 125th birthday of Mexican painter Diego Rivera, removing the trademark colors for a day. The doodle featured Rivera painting a mural with a faint hint of the Google logo on the background.[75]
Google celebrated the 84th birthday of Robert Noyce, the American inventor of the integrated circuit or microchip, and co-founder of Intel. The doodle featured a microchip with the lines forming the word Google, removing the Catull font and the trademark colors for a day.[76]
Google redecorated its logo for Christmas with a doodle that when first viewed, showed the Google logo decorated in neon Christmas lights with a set of six multi-colored buttons placed underneath. When all of the buttons were clicked, the screen was blackened and an animated doodle was initiated, featuring a snowflake superimposed over the logo's first "G", a Santa Claus over the first "o", a church bell over the second "o", a snowman over the second "g", a candle over the "l", and a gift over the "e". An instrumental version of the winter-themed song "Jingle Bells" (today often considered a Christmas carol) was played during the sequence. When the sequence finished, the user was automatically redirected to a search results page for either "Christmas", "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays", depending on the country-specific Google subdomain.[77][78] Google's permanent information page for the doodle labels it as "Happy Holidays 2011", and does not mention the word Christmas at all, referring to the doodle as merely a "holiday" doodle.[79]
Google redecorated its logo for New Year 2012 with its charming illustrations and re-imaginations of “Google”.[80] The doodle featured the word "Google", attending a New Year party, wearing decorative caps and blowing trumpets, while second 'G' of the letter 'Google' wears the year 2012's goggles.[81]