Google doodles

[9A]

March 23, 2019

Abidin Dino’s 106th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates artist and author Abidin Dino, known to many as a pioneer of the Turkish avant-garde movement. Born on this day in 1913, Dino created canvases blending elements of expressionism, realism, and surrealism, which now adorn the walls of museums and collectors in Spain and Turkey. Turkish publications featured his calligraphic illustrations and essays, and his unique vision was even present in cinema and across stages.

At 20, Dino co-founded D Grubu [or Group D], Turkey's first avant-garde movement, alongside five other innovators. While working in Paris, he was introduced to famed figures like Pablo Picasso and Gertrude Stein before returning to Istanbul in 1939. He participated in the historic “Harbor Exhibition,” a show featuring realistic portraits of dockworkers and fishermen, and was later recruited to design the Turkish Pavilion at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Dino's political cartoons during World War II resulted in a forced exile, during which he created some of his most resonant work. In 1952, he returned to France with his wife, Güzin.

The couple played host to fellow Turkish artists, scholars, and students for many years, connecting worlds and worldviews. Dino exhibited along with other progressive artists at the Salon de Mai in Paris every spring from 1954 to 1962.

In 1979, Dino was elected honorary chairman of the French National Union of the Visual Arts [[UNAP). His drawings of hands and flowers—which inspired today’s Doodle—were collected into a small book dedicated to his wife, titled Güzin’s Abidins, a testament to the heartfelt inspiration behind his vision.

Happy 106th Birthday, Abidin!

[9A]

Mar 26, 2015

Hwang Sun-won’s 100th Birthday




Hwang Sun-wŏn [March 26, 1915 – September 14, 2000] was a Korean short story writer, novelist, and poet.

[9A]

March 26, 2019

Bangladesh Independence Day 2019





Today’s Doodle celebrates Independence Day in Bangladesh, the South Asian nation situated on the Bay of Bengal and a deltaic nation with almost 700 rivers flowing through it!

On this day in 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, often titled Bangabandhu [which translates to “friend of Bengal”], signed a declaration that made the former East Pakistan the sovereign and independent country of Bangladesh with its own unique language and culture. This founding document followed Bangabandhu’s historic speech, delivered on March 7.

A public holiday in Bangladesh, Independence Day is commemorated with parades, fairs, and concerts as well as patriotic speeches. A festive spirit fills the capital city of Dhaka, where the Bangladesh flag flies proudly, and many government buildings are lit up with the national colors: green and red. The green symbolizes Bangladesh’s abundant flora and the potential of the nation’s youth while the red circle in the middle of the flag represents the sun rising over the relatively new and developing country.

Joy Bangla!

[9A]

March 26, 2018

45th Anniversary of the Chipko Movement




Embrace the trees and

Save them from being felled;

The property of our hills,

Save them from being looted.

These words are from a poem by Ghanasyam Raturi, an Indian poet writing about the Chipko movement in the 1970s to protect the regional forests in Uttar Pradesh [Uttrakhand]. The success of this nonviolent, grassroots resistance was felt around the globe, serving as the inspiration for future environmental movements. The Chipko Andolan also stands out as an eco-feminist movement. Women formed the nucleus of the movement, as the group most directly affected by the lack of firewood and drinking water caused by deforestation.

The original Chipko movement dates back to the 18th century, when a group of 363 people from 84 different villages, led by Amrita Devi, laid down their lives to protect a group of khejri trees that were to be cut down at the order of the maharaja, or king, of Jodhpur. After this event, the maharaja decreed that the trees were to be left standing. The original movement was called "angalwaltha", the Garhwali word for "embrace," as the protesters protected the trees by surrounding them and linking hands, physically preventing the loggers from touching the plants. The movement was later named for the Hindi word “chipko,” which means “to stick.”

Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Svabhu Kohli and Viplov Singh, remembers the modern movement and those involved.

[9A]

Mar 28, 2018

Hannah Glasse’s 310th Birthday






If the thought of Yorkshire pudding and gooseberry fool makes your mouth water, you have Hannah Glasse to thank for making these two delectable dishes staples in English cuisine. Born on this day in 1708, Glasse was a pioneering English cook and author of the most popular cookbook of the 18th century. Published in 1747, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy was unique; it was one of the first cookbooks written in a simple and conversational style, which meant that any English speaker and reader – regardless of their class – could learn how to cook.

Glasse’s cookbook was popular not only because it was easy to read, but also because of its massive scope. It included a whopping 972 recipes, covering everything from puddings and soups, to what to serve at Lent, to preparing food for the sick.

Today’s Doodle features Glasse whipping up a batch of classic Yorkshire puddings. Her recipe for Yorkshire pudding, among many others, is one of the earliest known ever published.

Happy 310th birthday, Hannah Glasse!

Illustration by Matthew Cruickshank

[9A]

March 28, 2016

Ángela Ruiz Robles’s 121st Birthday



Ángela Ruiz Robles, born 121 years ago today, was a writer, teacher, inventor, and pioneer of the e-book. Inspired by technological advancement in things like television and cars, she aimed to bring innovation to education as well. Her ingenious "mechanical encyclopedia," with information on scrolling coils that could be switched out for new ones, made it possible for students to study at home without carrying around heavy books. The invention also included a light source, so that students without access to electricity could read unimpaired. After she patented her invention, Robles continued to work on the fabrication of the encyclopedia, with the intention of making it more affordable for students everywhere.


Doodler Kevin Laughlin's design spells "Google" with the looping coils of the Enciclopedia Mecánica. The seafoam green of the encyclopedia's case [[a characteristic feature) was a key detail that was added just before finishing.


Happy birthday, Ángela Ruiz Robles! Thanks for getting education and technology off on a roll.

[9A]

March 28, 2016

240th Anniversary of the Bolshoi Theater's Foundation



A famous choreographer once said: “wherever a dancer stands is holy ground.” If so, then there are few stages more sacred than the Bolshoi Theatre, which has hosted the world’s finest opera and ballet performances for more than two centuries. Today’s doodle by artist Lydia Nichols commemorates the order by Empress Catherine the Second to build a public theater. Today, 240 years later, this stately neoclassical venue still stands in the heart of Moscow, a timeless symbol of artistic excellence.

[9A]

March 28, 2020

Wubbo Ockels’ 74th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the 74th birthday of Dutch astronaut, physicist, and professor Dr. Wubbo Ockels, the Netherlands’ first citizen in space. A champion of sustainable energy renowned for his positive outlook on life, Dr. Ockel’s contributions to science and space exploration were truly out of this world.

Born on this day in 1946 in Almelo, Netherlands, Wubbo Johannes Ockels went on to pursue a doctorate in physics and mathematics from the University of Groningen. Taking a break from his research on nuclear energy, he stumbled across an advertisement from the European Space Agency looking for candidates to go to space, and the rest is history. In 1978, the ESA selected Ockels and two others to begin astronaut training as part of an ambitious series of missions utilizing Spacelab, the agency’s manned research module.

On October 30th, 1985, Dr. Ockels launched into space aboard the Challenger space shuttle as a scientific research specialist, the eight-person crew becoming the largest ever to do so aboard the same craft. In honor of the Netherlands, he carried onboard a large bag of gouda cheese. After logging 168 hours in space, a dizzying 110 orbits of Earth, and over 75 scientific experiments, the crew returned safely home.

After that, Dr. Ockels never made it back to space, but his unique experience of the world’s beauty revealed the vulnerability of our planet. Instilled with the profound notion that humankind has no spare home, he used his newfound fame as an astronaut to promote sustainability back on Earth. In 2003, he became a full-time aerospace engineering professor, with a focus on developing alternative sources of energy.

Thank you, Dr. Wubbo Ockels, for defying gravity to create a better future for us all! ​

[9A]

Apr 4, 2016

Cazuza’s 58th birthday




Like so many great rock musicians, Agenor Miranda Araújo Neto, better known as Cazuza, began his career rattling the walls of neighborhood garages. A native of Rio de Janeiro, he fell in with the fledgling rock group Barão Vermelho when a friend urged him to audition for their open lead vocalist position. After landing a song on the soundtrack for a local film, the group played at the first ever Rock in Rio music festival, and their popularity soared.

After four years with the band, Cazuza embarked on an enormously successful solo career. His music and profound lyrics were a testament to his travels in the UK and his brushes with Beat poetry in San Francisco. In 1988, Cazuza’s health declined, and in 1989 he announced that he had been living with AIDS. He continued to compose and perform despite the illness. Through his openness, charm, and advocacy, Cazuza helped ease the stigmas surrounding the LGBT and HIV-positive communities in Brazil. When he died in July of 1990, thousands lined the streets of Rio for his funeral procession.

To honor the late singer’s musical career, Doodler Helene Leroux sketched the rocker on stage in his iconic and ever-present bandana.

[9A]

Apr 16, 2011

122nd Birthday of Charlie Chaplin



Charlie Chaplin wasn’t just the greatest star of the silent film era; he also wrote, directed and produced more than 80 movies in a career that spanned decades and included such masterpieces as The Kid, The Gold Rush and Modern Times. He scored many of his pictures as well, and on at least one occasion served as an on-set hairdresser.

Chaplin is also one of my creative heroes. Despite being an art-obsessed high schooler preemptively bored by anything in black and white, I borrowed a VHS tape of Chaplin’s work from the library on a lark. It’s not an exaggeration to say watching it changed my life. I laughed, I cried—I cried from laughter. For the first time I realized the power of visual storytelling.

We sometimes tell small stories with Google’s logo, but for Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin’s 122nd birthday tomorrow, April 16, the Doodle team created something extra fun. For the next 36 hours the Google homepage will pay homage to Charlie Chaplin’s creative legacy with our first-ever live action video doodle.

The simple, silent short film stars the entire Doodle team [[with fellow doodler Mike Dutton sporting that famous mustache, hat and eyeliner) and was shot on location in Niles, Calif., the setting of several of Chaplin’s early classics including The Tramp. Niles is also home to our advisers for this doodle, the ever-helpful Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum.

True pieces of art, Chaplin’s films still feel fresh today even though some of them are nearly a century old. We hope that our homage gets people talking about his work and the many virtues of silent film.

Posted by Ryan Germick, Doodler, Writer, Director, Keystone Cop

[9A]

April 16, 2009

Christiaan Huygens' Birthday


Christiaan Huygens was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, astronomer and inventor, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time and a major figure in the scientific revolution. In physics, Huygens made groundbreaking contributions in optics and mechanics, while as an astronomer he is chiefly known for his studies of the rings of Saturn and the discovery of its moon Titan. As an inventor, he improved the design of telescopes and invented the pendulum clock, a breakthrough in timekeeping and the most accurate timekeeper for almost 300 years. An exceptionally talented mathematician and physicist, Huygens was the first to idealize a physical problem by a set of parameters then analyse it mathematically, and the first to fully mathematize a mechanistic explanation of an unobservable physical phenomenon. For these reasons, he has been called the first theoretical physicist and one of the founders of modern mathematical physics.

In 1659, Huygens derived geometrically the now standard formulae in classical mechanics for the centripetal force and centrifugal force in his work De vi Centrifuga.Huygens also identified the correct laws of elastic collision for the first time in his work De Motu Corporum ex Percussione, published posthumously in 1703. In the field of optics, he is best known for his wave theory of light, which he proposed in 1678 and described in his Traité de la Lumière [1690]. His mathematical theory of light was initially rejected in favour of Newton's corpuscular theory of light, until Augustin-Jean Fresnel adopted Huygens's principle to give a complete explanation of the rectilinear propagation and diffraction effects of light in 1821. Today this principle is known as the Huygens–Fresnel principle.

Huygens invented the pendulum clock in 1657, which he patented the same year. His research in horology resulted in an extensive analysis of the pendulum in Horologium Oscillatorium [1673], regarded as one of the most important 17th century works in mechanics. While the first part contains descriptions of clock designs, most of the book is an analysis of pendulum motion and a theory of curves. In 1655, Huygens began grinding lenses with his brother Constantijn to build telescopes for astronomical research. He was the first to identify the rings of Saturn as "a thin, flat ring, nowhere touching, and inclined to the ecliptic," and discovered the first of Saturn's moons, Titan, using a refracting telescope. In 1662 Huygens developed what is now called the Huygenian eyepiece, a telescope with two lenses, which diminished the amount of dispersion.

[9A]

Apr 21, 2009

Kartini Day 2009



Raden Adjeng was a prominent Indonesian activist who advocated for women's rights and female education.

She was born into an aristocratic Javanese family in the Dutch East Indies [present-day Indonesia]. After attending a Dutch-language primary school, she wanted to pursue further education, but Javanese women at the time were barred from higher education. She met various officials and influential people, including J.H. Abendanon, who was in charge of implementing the Dutch Ethical Policy.

After her death, her sisters continued her advocacy of educating girls and women. Kartini's letters were published in a Dutch magazine and eventually, in 1911, as the works: Out of Darkness to Light, Women's Life in the Village, and Letters of a Javanese Princess. Her birthday is now celebrated in Indonesia as Kartini Day in her honor, as well as multiple schools being named after her and a fund being established in her name to finance the education of girls in Indonesia. She was interested in mysticism and opposed polygamy.

Sukarno's Old Order state declared 21 April as Kartini Day to remind women that they should participate in "the hegemonic state discourse of pembangunan [development]". After 1965, however, Suharto's New Order state reconfigured the image of Kartini from that of radical women's emancipator to one that portrayed her as a dutiful wife and obedient daughter, "as only a woman dressed in a kebaya who can cook." On that occasion, popularly known as Hari Ibu Kartini or Mother Kartini Day, "young girls were to wear tight, fitted jackets, batik shirts, elaborate hairstyles, and ornate jewelry to school, supposedly replicating Kartini's attire but in reality, wearing an invented and more constricting ensemble than she ever did."

[9A]

Jun 6, 2008

Diego Velázquez's Birthday


Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period. He began to paint in a precise tenebrist style, later developing a freer manner characterized by bold brushwork. In addition to numerous renditions of scenes of historical and cultural significance, he painted scores of portraits of the Spanish royal family and commoners, culminating in his masterpiece Las Meninas [1656].

Velázquez's artwork became a model for 19th-century realist and impressionist painters. In the 20th century, artists such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Francis Bacon paid tribute to Velázquez by re-interpreting some of his most iconic images.

[9A]

Jun 7, 2008

Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Birthday



Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macdonald, was influential on European design movements such as Art Nouveau and Secessionism and praised by great modernists such as Josef Hoffmann. Mackintosh was born in Glasgow and died in London. He is among the most important figures of Modern Style [British Art Nouveau style].

[9A]

Nov 20, 2021

Edmond Dédé's 194th Birthday



Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Brooklyn, NY-based guest artist Lyne Lucien, celebrates Creole classical musician and composer Edmond Dédé. The melody to his 1851 composition “Mon Pauvre Cœur” [My Poor Heart] remains one of the oldest surviving pieces of sheet music by a Black Creole composer in New Orleans.

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. on this day in 1827, Dédé picked up the clarinet from his father, a bandmaster in a local military band. He switched to the violin, which soon became Dédé’s instrument of choice as he developed into a musical prodigy. Apprenticing under prominent New Orleans musicians, Dédé left home for Mexico to escape the increasing racial prejudice in the American South.

He returned home in 1851 and published “Mon Pauvre Cœur.” He worked briefly to save money before leaving again to continue his classical studies in France. In the late 1850s, he landed a position at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, where his creativity thrived. He also worked at the Théâtre de l'Alcazar and the Folies Bordelaises. His ballets, operettas, overtures, and over 250 songs achieved massive success in France yet gained little traction in the U.S. In 1893, en route to his only musical appearance back in New Orleans, Dédé lost his favorite Cremona violin in a shipwreck but managed to find a replacement just in time for his performance!

Despite living in a time of severe racial discrimination, Dédé’s talent led him to become a world-class composer. Most of Dédé’s sheet music is preserved in the National Library of France and several American universities. His story continues to inspire contemporary classical musicians to take pride in their heritage and honor the contributions of musicians from historically overlooked communities.

[9A]

November 20, 2013


Children's Day 2013 [Multiple Countries]

[9A]

July 12, 2017

Tayeb Salih’s 88th Birthday



“There are many horizons that must be visited, fruit that must be plucked, books read, and white pages in the scrolls of life to be inscribed with vivid sentences in a bold hand,” claims the narrator of Tayeb Salih’s most critically acclaimed novel, Seasons of Migration to the North.

First published in Arabic in 1967, Seasons of Migration to the North was an international hit and is considered a national treasure of Sudan. It was eventually translated into 20 languages, and in 2011 it was deemed the most important Arabic novel of the 20th century by the Arab Literary Academy.

Before his literary successes, Salih was born to a poor family in a village in northern Sudan in 1929. He studied in the capital, Khartoum, before moving to England four years before his country gained its independence in 1956. After leaving Sudan, Salih spent much of his life living in various cities across Europe and the Arab world, but his work always found a firm foundation in his homeland -- mostly the fictional village of Wad Hamid.

Today’s doodle honors his sense of a setting, incorporating recurring elements from some of Salih’s most popular stories, like Seasons, The Wedding of Al Zein [[1962), and A Handful of Dates [1964]. Through Salih’s window we can see a boy and his beloved grandfather, the shade of a palm tree, and the river Nile.

Happy 88th birthday, Salih!

[9A]

July 12, 2013

Claude Bernard's 200th Birthday





Claude Bernard was a French physiologist. Historian I. Bernard Cohen of Harvard University called Bernard "one of the greatest of all men of science". Among many other accomplishments, he was one of the first to suggest the use of a blinded experiment to ensure the objectivity of scientific observations. He originated the term milieu intérieur, and the associated concept of homeostasis the latter term being coined by Walter Cannon.

[9A]

July 12, 2021

UEFA Euro 2020 Winner [Italy]



Congratulations to the 2020 Euro Cup champions: Italy!

Over the past month, athletes from the national teams of 24 countries competed for top rank across eleven host cities in Europe. Today’s Doodle celebrates the winners of this emotional tournament, Italy, who will return home as Euro Cup champions.

The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euros, is the primary association football tournament organized by the Union of European Football Associations [UEFA].

Cheers to all of Europe’s talented players. See you next time!

[9A]

February 18, 2021

Audre Lorde's 87th Birthday



https://www.google.com/doodles/audre...-87th-birthday [slide show]

"There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle, because we do not lead single-issue lives. Our struggles are particular, but we are not alone. What we must do is commit ourselves to some future that can include each other and to work toward that future with the particular strengths of our individual identities.”- Audre Lorde

In honor of U.S. Black History Month, today’s Doodle—illustrated by Los Angeles-based guest artist Monica Ahanonu—celebrates internationally-acclaimed American poet, feminist, professor, and civil rights champion Audre Lorde, a key figure of the Black and LGBTQ+ cultural movements of 20th century. For Lorde, poetry was more than just a form of emotional expression, it was a way of life–providing the vehicle for her lifetime advocacy against discrimination and racial injustice.
Audre Geraldin Lorde was born the daughter of Caribbean immigrants on this day in 1934 in Harlem, New York City. Introverted as a child, she learned how to read and write from her neighborhood librarian Augusta Baker, who influenced her profoundly. Poetry soon became second nature for Lorde. When asked how she was, her response was often a poem she had memorized, and by eighth grade, she began to write her own verse.

A precocious student, she became the first Black student at Hunter High School, a public school for gifted girls. Her 1951 love poem “Spring” was rejected as unsuitable by the school’s literary journal, but was printed by Seventeen magazine when she was just 15—making it her first published poem. Lorde went on to earn her Master's of Library Science from Columbia University in 1961, and continued to write poetry as a librarian and English teacher in New York public schools throughout the ‘60s.

Describing herself as a “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet” Lorde emerged as an essential voice in the confrontation of homophobia and racism when she published her first collection of poems, ”The First Cities” [1968]. Throughout her career, Lorde published poetry that explored identity and sexuality, while demanding social and racial justice—not only in the United States, but also abroad.

Between 1984 and 1992, Lorde spent extensive time in West Germany teaching poetry at the Free University in Berlin and organizing the local feminist movement. While in Germany, Lorde led numerous lectures and workshops on feminism, homophobia, classism, and racism. She also connected and mentored Black German women, encouraging them to define and own their identities; Lorde’s guidance was influential in sparking the Afro-German movement of the ‘80s.

Poetry wasn’t the only literary medium that Lorde was fluent in; she also earned great acclaim for her prose. Her book “Sister Outsider” [1984] is a notable collection of her essays and speeches—including “Learning from the 60s” [excerpts of which are featured in today’s Doodle artwork]. In this speech and throughout her career, Lorde explored how the complexities of contemporary social justice activism lie at the intersections of our individual differences, which include gender, class, race, and sexuality. She noted that personal identity isn’t shaped by a single factor, rather that it’s the result of the myriad aspects of experience exclusive to each individual. Lorde felt that understanding this concept was the best way to make progress against oppression; understanding that the prejudices others face vary greatly from person to person, as they are unique to their own life’s journey. Lorde is often regarded as one of the forefront voices of intersectionality and its role within the global feminist movement.
For her literary achievements, Audre Lorde was awarded the American Book Award in 1989. She was later honored as the poet laureate of New York State through the Walt Whitman Citation of Merit in 1991.

Happy birthday, Audre Lorde!

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Special thanks to the family of Audre Lorde for their partnership on this project. Below Elizabeth Lorde-Rollins and Jonathan Rollins share their thoughts on the Doodle and their mother’s legacy.

Our mother Audre Lorde died in 1992 after a fourteen-year battle with metastatic breast cancer, but she would have loved the Google Doodle. She loved learning new things–and she would have been very honored to be featured. As mentioned above, she received her Master’s degree in Library Science because she was very big on cataloging information in an orderly fashion so it could be located, even if centuries separated the knowledge from its seeker. How she would have enjoyed sitting down to a keyboard and having worlds of knowledge open at the typing of a few key words or phrases!

Audre Lorde was a complicated and passionate woman. She was as passionate an educator as she was a fighter. It was very important to her that her work be useful—and she would be enormously gratified to know that her words are now used as a rallying cry of people fighting for justice all over the world. She also loved life: she loved to dance and to hunt for rocks. She loved candy bars. And she loved the people close to her, fiercely.


Pictured: Audre LordePhoto credit: Courtesy of the Lorde-Rollins Family
Pictured: Audre LordePhoto credit: Courtesy of the Lorde-Rollins Family

[9A]

February 18, 2015

Alessandro Volta’s 270th Birthday



As a new artist here at Google I was given the exciting opportunity to design the Doodle for Volta as just my second doodle. This was particularly thrilling given he was the 18th century Italian physicist, chemist and electrical pioneer who invented the first electrical battery.

To my surprise this discovery almost came by accident while Volta and his friend Galvani, an anatomy professor, were dissecting a frog. When the animal’s legs unexpectedly twitched from an electrical discharge, Galvani went on to hypothesize that animals generated their own electricity, a theory that would eventually go on to inspire Mary Shelly’s novel, ‘Frankenstein’. But Volta had his own theory: that the electrical discharge had been caused by two different metals touching the frog’s body.

Experimenting with different metals and solutions, Volta ended up creating the first electric battery: the Voltaic Pile, a stack of alternating metal discs separated by cardboard and cloth soaked with seawater. But what made this battery so remarkable was that it was easy to construct out of common materials and enabled experimenters for the first time to produce steady, predictable flows of electricity. Within just weeks it inspired a wave of discoveries and inventions and ushered in a new age of electrical science.

[9A]

February 18, 2018

Carnival 2018 [Greece]





In Greece, the Carnival is a time for games, parades, and celebration. The Greek season of apokries, which literally translates to “no more meat,” refers to the time of Lent that Carnival precedes. The Carnival’s ten weeks of festivities also celebrate Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. Partygoers can participate in myriad events throughout the festival, from a treasure hunt to the burning of the carnival king.

Though Carnival has been celebrated for centuries [or longer!], its modern form is likely derived from a party held by a merchant named Moretis in 1829. As new cultures visited and left their marks on the Grecian islands, the celebration continued to change, leading to different versions of Carnival in different regions of the country.

Carnival ends on Clean Monday [Ash Monday], when Lent begins for those who observe.

May the season of apokries inspire you to celebrate life, joy, and laughter!

[9A]

February 18, 2013

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi's 812th Birthday



Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tūsī, better known as Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, was a Persian polymath, architect, philosopher, physician, scientist, and theologian. Nasir al-Din al-Tusi was a well published author, writing on subjects of math, engineering, prose, and mysticism. Additionally, al-Tusi made several scientific advancements. In astronomy, al-Tusi created very accurate tables of planetary motion, an updated planetary model, and critiques of Ptolemaic astronomy. He also made strides in logic, mathematics but especially trigonometry, biology, and chemistry. Nasir al-Din al-Tusi left behind a great legacy as well. Some consider Tusi one of the greatest scientists of medieval Islam, since he is often considered the creator of trigonometry as a mathematical discipline in its own right. The Muslim scholar Ibn Khaldun [1332–1406] considered Tusi to be the greatest of the later Persian scholars. There is also reason to believe that he may have influenced Copernican heliocentrism.

[9A]

February 18, 2014

Ertem Egilmez's 85th Birthday [born 1929]



Ertem Eğilmez was a Turkish film director, producer and screenwriter. He is known as the name behind some of the most popular films in Turkish film history. Many of these were produced by his production company Arzu Film.

[9A]

May 17, 2018

Alfonso Reyes’ 129th Birthday





Today we wish happy birthday to Alfonso Reyes, one of Mexico’s most distinguished authors.

Born in Monterrey and educated in Mexico City, Reyes studied the works of intellectuals and philosophers before deciding to pursue law. In law school, he wrote La Cena [The Supper], one of the first and most influential pieces of Mexican surrealism. Today’s Doodle puts mirror-like imagery to this tale; La Cena follows a circular narrative, where the action begins and ends at the same time

After finishing his education, Reyes went on to become a foreign diplomat in France, Spain, Argentina and Brazil. Afterwards, he settled in Spain to dedicate himself to writing and teaching, publishing essays and poetry. He specialized in Greek classic literature and introduced many of these works to Mexico upon his return.

Reyes continued to write until the end of his life. His work earned him five nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Feliz cumpleaños, Alfonso Reyes!


Doodle illustrated by Juan Palomino

[9A]

May 21, 2014

Mary Anning's 215th Birthday



Mary Anning was an English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist who became known around the world for finds she made in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel at Lyme Regis in the county of Dorset in Southwest England. Anning's findings contributed to changes in scientific thinking about prehistoric life and the history of the Earth.

[9A]

May 21, 2006

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 147th Birthday





Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.

Doyle was a prolific writer; other than Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" helped to popularise the mystery of the Mary Celeste.

[9A]

Jun 10, 2016

UEFA Euro 2016





It’s time for UEFA Euro 2016! France plays host to the world’s second-largest football championships from June 10 – July 10. Nearly 2 million fans are expected to travel to France to cheer teams from 24 countries in stadiums across the nation, while over 300 million are expected to tune in from afar. Whether you’re hoping Spain will defend their title or are counting on an upset, here’s to an exciting tournament!

[9A]

Jun 13, 2016

Theodosia Okoh’s 94th birthday





Happy Birthday Theodosia Salome Okoh! Affectionately known as “Dosia, Mama Maa” or simply “Maa,” she was a very influential Ghanaian, best known for designing the country’s national flag.

For today's blog post, the Google team collaborated with Okoh's family who shared Okoh’s vision for the flag. From her family: “She always said that the ends of the Black Star must touch the bottom line of the red band and the top line of the green band in the flag.”

Fifty nine years after Okoh first designed the flag, the vibrant stripes of red, yellow, and green behind a black star, remain a strong symbol of national pride and identity for the Ghanaian people.

Okoh, who would have been 94 years old today, was not only an artist but an athlete who led the Ghanaian hockey team to their first ever World Cup appearance. The team also won the Fair Play Award, Ghana's first ever international hockey award, during her tenure. She went on to become the first female chairman of the Ghana Hockey Association and later, served as President of the Ghana Hockey Federation for 20 years. To honor her contributions, the hockey stadium in the center of Accra is named after her.

When the Mayor of Accra sought to change the name, she defended it with the same zeal she showed during games. According to Okoh's family, "Many people in Ghana will remember the infamous cartoon of her pulling the mayor of Accra’s beard in one hand with an oversize pair of scissors in the other, threatening to cut off his beard for having the gall to try and change the name of the hockey stadium."

We hope today’s Doodle by Alyssa Winans inspires people everywhere to pursue their passions, and Ghanaians to celebrate their magnificent flag and the powerful woman behind it.

[9A]

June 13, 2014

World Cup 2014 #4

• Fans of Spain and Netherlands go head to head!

• 
  Matt making it happen

[9A]

June 13, 2013

Dano [Korean Festival Day] 2013
Dano is a Korean traditional holiday that falls on the 5th day of the fifth month of the lunar Korean calendar. It is an official holiday in North Korea and one of the major traditional holidays in South Korea. South Korea has retained several festivals related to the holiday, one of which is Gangneung Dano Festival designated by UNESCO as a "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity".

In the Mahan confederacy of ancient Korea, this was a day of spiritual rites, and enjoyment with song, dance, and wine. Traditionally, women washed their hair in water boiled with Sweet Flag believed to make one's hair shiny. Women also put Angelica polymorpha flowers in their hair out of the belief that its aroma would repel evil. People wore blue and red clothes and dyed hairpins red with the iris roots. Men wore iris roots around their waist to ward off evil spirits. Herbs wet with dew on this morning were said to heal stomachaches and wounds. Traditional foods include surichitteok, ssuktteok, and other herb rice cakes.

The persisting folk games of Dano are the swing, ssireum, stone battle game seokjeon and taekkyon. The swing was a game played by women, while ssireum was a wrestling match among men. In addition, mask dance used to be popular among peasants due to its penchant for satirical lyrics flouting local aristocrats.

[9A]

June 13, 2011

Fernando Pessoa's 123rd Birthday




For this doodle celebrating one of Portugal’s most beloved novelists and poets, I referenced an iconic portrait by José Sobral de Almada Negreiros. Pessoa was an author of many styles and pseudonyms, but his writing was characterized overall by a profound vividness which I hope I’ve captured in this depiction of him.

Posted by Sophia Foster-Dimino

[9A]

Apr 14, 2015

155th Anniversary of the Pony Express





We were so excited to share this doodle that we asked a friend of the team, animator Nate Swinehart, to tell a bit more about the history of the Pony Express and document the doodle process.





The notion of triumph through adversity is so inspirational. So when William H.Russell, Alexander Majors & William B Waddell founded the Pony Express on April 3rd, 1860, they set in motion a wonderful yet daunting method of communication. What a concept–riders with letters on horseback racing from California to Missouri and vice versa to deliver mail on time! True to their word, the first mail arrived on April 14th. The Pony Express felt like a great game concept to us at Google. We've made time-based games in the past so our new idea was simple. Collect letters, avoid obstacles and aim for the ultimate 100 letter delivery! We know everyone is busy these days but the Pony Express needs YOU. And ultimately, whatever happens in life, what's more important than earning trust and respect from a horse?

Roll call:

Engineering wizardry: Mark Ivey, Kris Hom, Brian Murray
Background wonderfulness: Kevin Laughlin
Project management: Greg Capuano
Sound design: Manuel Clément
Game ideas: Everyone
Art direction & character design/animation: Matt Cruickshank

[9A]

April 14, 2021
Oliver De Coque’s 74th Birthday



Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Lagos-based guest artist Ohab TBJ, pays tribute to Nigerian musician Oliver de Coque on his 74th birthday. Crowned the “Highlife King of Africa,” he is widely revered as one of the continent's most prolific recording artists.


Born on this day in 1947 in the small town of Ezinifite in southeastern Nigeria, Oliver Sunday Akanite first took up the guitar at a young age, and as a teenager, studied the traditional Igbo music of the region and Congolese soukous. In 1970, at a performance by the popular Sunny Agaga and his Lucky Star Band, Akanite convinced Sunny to let him stand in as their guitarist; he was hired on the spot, providing a massive boost to his young career. Also a skilled player of the Nigerian board game okwe, Akanite became known as “Oliver de ka Okwe,” which he later adapted into his stage name, Oliver de Coque.


De Coque famously infused the modern West African highlife genre with a Congolese-influenced guitar style and the energetic dance elements of Igbo music he grew up with, crafting a unique musical style, which he called Ogene. Beginning with his first solo release in 1976, de Coque’s music only grew in popularity at home and abroad, as he put out album after album featuring his masterful guitar work and fresh take on African pop–over 70 throughout his lifetime.


In 1994, in recognition of his prodigious music achievement, de Coque was awarded an honorary doctorate in music by the University of New Orleans.


Thank you, Oliver de Coque, for strumming your way into the hearts of listeners around the world!

[9A]

Apr 15, 2021

Eugène Poubelle’s 190th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates Eugène Poubelle, the French lawyer, administrator, and diplomat credited with revolutionizing Paris’s waste management system in the late 19th century. Never afraid to get his hands dirty, Poubelle is forever immortalized in the French word for the trash can: la poubelle.

Born in Caen, France on this day in 1831, Eugène René Poubelle earned a law degree and began his career as a professor before transitioning into public service. In 1883, he was appointed prefect of the Seine, and he soon came to the conclusion that Paris needed to clean up its act.

In 1884, Poubelle decreed that Parisian landlords were required to install large, covered receptacles for their tenants’ household trash, and—far ahead of his time—he even mandated three separate bins to facilitate recycling. In 1890, la poubelle was officially inducted into the French dictionary as the term for “garbage can.”

But Poubelle didn’t stop there. Following a severe cholera outbreak in 1892, he also required all buildings to be connected directly to the city’s sewers, another huge step in the name of urban hygiene. Poubelle’s mandates also catalyzed the development of household waste removal vehicles, early versions of which came in the form of horse-drawn carriages. With the advent of the first automobiles, these prototypical garbage trucks evolved into motorized vehicles in 1897; by the dawn of the 20th-century, this sanitation technology cleared the path for garbage collection to become commonplace not just in French urban centers but nationwide.

Thank you, Eugène Poubelle, for refusing to let your visionary ideas be thrown out!

[9A]

Apr 17, 2021

Celebrating Laura Bassi



Newton’s second law of motion states that an object’s acceleration is dependent on two variables: the force acting on the object and its mass. Apply this law to the momentum of women in science, and Italian physicist and professor—Laura Bassi—arises as a primary force for propelling scientific progress forward. On this day in 1732, Bassi successfully defended 49 theses to become one of the first women in Europe to receive a PhD.

Today’s Doodle celebrates Laura Maria Catarina Bassi, who was born in Bologna, Papal States [modern-day Italy] in 1711. A child prodigy, she was debating top academics on the history of philosophy and physics by 20; a rare achievement at a time in which women were largely excluded from higher education.

By 1732, Bassi was a household name in Bologna, and following her thesis defense, she became the first female member of the Bologna Academy of Sciences, one of Italy’s foremost scientific institutions. Due to gender discrimination, her position at the Academy was limited, yet she persisted. Bassi apprenticed under eminent Bologna professors to learn calculus and Newtonian physics, a discipline she spread across Italy for almost 50 years. A lifelong teacher of physics and philosophy, she complemented her education with innovative research and experiments on subjects ranging from electricity to hydraulics.

Bassi continually fought for gender equality in education throughout her trailblazing career; efforts that culminated in 1776 when the Bologna Academy of Sciences appointed her a professor of experimental physics—making Bassi the first woman offered an official teaching position at a European university.

Here’s to you, Laura Bassi!

[9A]

Apr 20, 2021

Luther Vandross's 70th Birthday




Today’s video Doodle, created by Atlanta-based guest artist Sam Bass, celebrates the 70th birthday of multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer Luther Vandross—the “Velvet Voice” whose silky-smooth tenor ballads romanced generations with inimitable style and grace.

Born on this day in 1951 in New York City, Luther Ronzoni Vandross grew up inspired by soul music giants such as Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, and Dionne Warwick. At the age of five, he showed a sharp interest in singing, often using the coin-operated recording booths found in stores sprinkled throughout New York City at the time. He truly knew music was his destiny after a Warwick performance blew him away at 13—so he began to write his own songs. After high school, Vandross showcased his tunes at Amateur Night at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. Although he never won first place, he joined the theater’s performing arts group “Listen My Brother Revue,” who sang on the 1969 pilot episode of the children’s show “Sesame Street” and gave Vandross his first taste of widespread exposure.

Vandross’s next big break came when his original composition “Everybody Rejoice” was featured in “The Wiz,” a 1974 Broadway musical later adapted into an Academy Award-winning film. From there, Vandross launched himself into dozens of collaborative projects with artists like David Bowie, Ringo Starr, Whitney Houston, and Ben E. King. His knack for infectious hooks also landed him gigs singing commercial jingles for Juicy Fruit and several other major brands.

In 1981, Vandross launched his solo career and took full creative control to compose, write, and produce his debut studio album “Never Too Much”—the soundtrack of today’s Doodle and the first of 14 studio albums that went either platinum or multi-platinum! A fine-tuned maestro of performance, Vandross took his passionate songs on world-wide tours, where he poured his style into all aspects of live production, from the design of background singers sparkling gowns to the mood-setting stage lights. In 1989, Vandross’s devotion to the live experience set an international milestone when he became the first male artist to sell out 10 consecutive shows at London’s Wembley Arena.

Vandross’s successful music career culminated in eight Grammy Awards [out of 33 nominations], a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a 1997 Super Bowl half-time show performance, and eight Billboard Top 10 albums.

Happy birthday, Luther Vandross! The joy your music brings to the world is never too much.

[9A]

Apr 22, 2021

Earth Day 2021




This year’s annual Earth Day Doodle highlights how everyone can plant the seed to a brighter future—one sapling at a time!

The planet we call home continues to nurture life and inspire wonder. Our environment works hard to sustain us, which calls for us to return the favor. Today’s video Doodle shows a variety of trees being planted within natural habitats, one of the many ways we can do our part to keep our Earth healthy for future generations.

This Earth Day—and everyday—we encourage everyone to find one small act they can do to restore our Earth. It’s bound to take root and blossom into something beautiful.

Happy Earth Day 2021!

[9A]

April 22, 2012

Grace Cossington-Smith's 120th Birthday




Grace Cossington Smith was an Australian artist and pioneer of modernist painting in Australia and was instrumental in introducing Post-Impressionism to her home country. Examples of her work are held by every major gallery in Australia.

In 1973 Smith was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. For her services to Australian art, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1983. The Governor of New South Wales visited Cossington Smith in her nursing home to award her the honour.

[9A]

Apr 23, 2021

St. George's Day 2021





Today’s Doodle, illustrated by U.K.-based guest artist Ruby Fresson, honors England’s celebration of St. George’s Day and the legend behind this special day that has captured the imagination of generations.

The legend of St. George traces its roots back to the Middle Ages when 11th-century Crusaders returned to England and shared his venerable story of valor and sacrifice. Accounts lauded St. George as a hero who rescued not only a princess but an entire city under siege from a fire-breathing dragon! Upon his valiant horseback arrival, St. George slew the dragon, a battle scene recreated in today’s Doodle artwork. Rose bushes are said to have grown across the village after the dragon’s defeat and St. George picked a fresh rose to give to the rescued princess.


Following his success, the villagers held a massive feast in St. George’s honor—a tradition which has been passed down through the ages—as has giving a rose to a loved one in some cultures.

Happy St. George’s Day! ��

[9A]

Oct 27, 2019

Sylvia Plath's 87th Birthday




“How she longed for winter then! –
Scrupulously austere in its order
Of white and black
Ice and rock, each sentiment in border,
And heart’s frosty discipline
Exact as a snowflake.”


—Sylvia Plath, “Spinster”


Today’s Doodle celebrates the acclaimed American writer Sylvia Plath, whose painfully honest poetry and prose gave voice to the author’s innermost emotions in ways that touched generations of readers. “It is as if my life were magically run by two electric currents: joyous positive and despairing negative,” wrote Plath, whose work helped many understand mental illness. “Whichever is running at the moment dominates my life, floods it.”

Born in Boston on this day in 1932, Sylvia Plath grew up with her father, a strict German and biology teacher specializing in the study of bees. Showing an early talent for writing, Plath was published in national publications, won awards, worked as an editor, and graduated from Smith College with honors—all despite suffering a mental breakdown. Her works often used heavy imagery and metaphors, set amongst scenes of winter and frost, as shown in today's Doodle.

After college, Plath earned a Fulbright scholarship and traveled to England. In 1982, she won a Pulitzer Prize posthumously. While her children’s book, The It-Doesn’t-Matter-Suit, shows a lighter side of her creativity, her poems were described by the novelist Joyce Carol Oates as reading “as if they’ve been chiseled, with a fine surgical instrument, out of arctic ice.”

[9A]

August 16, 2017

Tina Modotti’s 121st Birthday



In a fraction of a second, a camera shutter blinks, rendering the world, unchanging, in soft sepia tones. But the photographer herself was never still. Tina Modotti refused to be a silent observer behind her camera lens. After all, “I cannot solve the problem of life by losing myself in the problem of art,” she wrote.

Tina’s early photos were mostly abstract — but telephone wires, staircases, and flowers were subjects that turned her lens away from the “problems of life” she couldn’t ignore. She found a match for her political and cultural views in Mexico, and fell in with a group of avant-garde artists including the painters Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, and the poet Pablo Neruda. Her photography switched focus to represent the everyday laborers and extraordinary folk art of Mexico City, which included documenting much of the Mexican mural movement.

Tina gave up her camera in 1931, devoting herself fully to political activism. Her body of work is relatively small, but represents how she lived her life: bold, and with conviction.

Happy 121st birthday, Tina.

[9A]

August 16, 2010

Gozan no Okuribi, iconic festivals of Kyoto



Gozan no Okuribi , more commonly known as Daimonji , is a festival in Kyoto, Japan. It is the culmination of the Obon festival on August 16, in which five giant bonfires are lit on mountains surrounding the city. It signifies the moment when the spirits of deceased family members, who are said to visit this world during O-Bon, are believed to be returning to the spirit world—thus the name Okuribi [ roughly, "send-off fire"].

[9A]

December 10, 2019

Celebrating Bertha von Suttner




“After the verb ‘to love,’ ‘to help’ is the most beautiful verb in the world.”

—Bertha von Suttner “Ground Arms! The Story of a Life” [1892]


Today’s Doodle honors the Austrian author Baroness Bertha von Suttner, who became the first female Nobel Peace Prize winner on this day in 1905. A staunch advocate for disarmament and international cooperation, Von Suttner argued that peace is the pinnacle of human progress.

Born Countess Bertha Kinsky in Prague in 1843, she studied music and languages in her young years. At age 30, she moved to Vienna to work as a governess in the von Suttner family home, where she met her future husband, Baron Arthur Gundaccar von Suttner. As the family did not approve of the couple, she left for Paris to work as Alfred Nobel’s secretary, and though it was only a brief stay, she remained in contact with the philanthropist for many years.

Secretly getting married in 1876, the Baron and Baroness von Suttner read evolutionist literature together, prompting the Baroness to start writing novels, short stories, and essays focused on social grievances and pacifism. In her 1889 book Die Waffen nieder! [Lay Down Your Arms!], which is considered her most famous work, she depicts the harsh realities of war from a woman’s perspective.

Undaunted by the opposition that discredited pacifism as a woman’s issue, Baroness von Suttner continued to push for peace by founding the Austrian Peace Society and attending the 1891 Peace Congress. Her work put her at the forefront of the peace movement, and Nobel later credited her dedication as part of the reason he created the Nobel Peace Prize, which was first awarded in 1901.

Today, the Bertha von Suttner Peace Institute in The Hague continues the work she started so many years ago.

[9A]

December 10, 2019

Anatoly Tarasov’s 101st Birthday

"Even though there is a limit on how fast a hockey player can skate… there is no limit to creative endeavors and progress."
–Anatoly Tarasov

Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Marseille-based guest artist Nadya Mira, celebrates Russian coach Anatoly Tarasov, widely known as the “father of Russian hockey,” on his 101st birthday. Under his leadership, the Russian [then USSR] national team won every Ice Hockey World Championship for 9 consecutive years, won 11 European championships, and took home 3 Olympic gold medals. Tarasov’s visionary tactics and will to win put his opponents on ice.

A proficient bandy player, Tarasov was given the task to implement a Soviet hockey program from the ground up after World War II. The Moscow native developed a unique coaching style, focusing both on the individual player’s mastery while demanding a team-first attitude, as well as integrating modified elements from other sports like bandy, soccer, and even ballet to produce champions.
Rival nations often attempted to mimic Tarasov’s approach. A coach from the U.S. asked Tarasov to reveal his secrets and was met with: “There is no secret in hockey. There is imagination, hard work, discipline, and dedication to achieving whatever the goal is.”

His ingenious methods influenced the game worldwide and left a mark on hockey that is still felt globally to this day. In 1974, Tarasov became the first European coach to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, as well as the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1997.

С днём ​​рождения, Anatoly Tarasov!

[9A]

Dec 1, 2020

Summer 2020 [Australia]

[9A]

Nov 28, 2020

Celebrating Henri Salvador





In honor of a French entertainer par excellence, today’s Doodle, illustrated by Toulouse, France-based guest artist Sébastien Gravouil, celebrates multi-talented singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and comedian Henri Salvador. Salvador established himself as a beloved French figure across a seven-decade career and is widely credited with helping to introduce rock ‘n’ roll to France. On this day in 2000, he received the prestigious Prix in honorem award from France’s Charles Cros Academy. Today’s Doodle artwork highlights Salvador’s wide-ranging contributions to French culture, including his beloved rock ‘n’ roll music, children’s lullabies, and animated character voice overs.

Henri Gabriel Salvador was born July 8th, 1917 in Cayenne, French Guiana and at the age of 12 moved to Paris with his family. Inspired by the music of Belgian jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, Salvador soon took up the guitar and began to perform in Parisian cafes. Before long he caught the attention of Reinhardt himself, who invited Salvador to join his band.

After several years in the French Army during World War II, Salvador joined French bandleader Ray Ventura on a years-long South American tour, and upon his return to Paris, he saw success from his very first recording in 1947. Salvador was invited twice in 1956 to perform on the famous television showcase “The Ed Sullivan Show” in New York. In the U.S. he experienced the excitement of rock ‘n’ roll, which he helped to channel into some of France’s very first rock hits. In addition, Salvador’s 1957 song “Dans Mon Île” [On My Island] was credited by Brazilian musician Antonio Carlos Jobim as his inspiration in developing the iconic bossa nova style.

Among many accolades, Salvador was named Commander of the Legion of Honour in 2004. Salvador released his final album in 2006.

Merci, Henri Salvador!

[9A]

November 28, 2013

Thanksgiving 2013




It's Thanksgiving! ... a time to gorge yourself on autumnal foods [the best kind of food]. This year, we've celebrated this most scrumptious of holidays with a bite-sized animated film.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, let me give thanks to the following amazing individuals who helped me with this doodle:

- Kris Hom, engineer/wizard
- Daniel Steinberg, whose band, The Hillbillies from Mars, recorded the music [Daniel played the flute!]
- Angela Yeung, sound engineer, who graciously let us use the recording facilities at CCRMA
- Leon Hong, who gave the banjo its "woosh"










Angela and The Hillbillies from Mars, at work in the studio!



A snapshot of the compositing process in Adobe After Effects.




My incredibly rough storyboards - and my incredibly messy workspace... [sorry cubemates!]




Rough sketches, notes, and musings


The music was recorded at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford University, with Angela Yeung supervising as the sound engineer. The tune is "The 28th of January," which has been passed down through generations of American fiddlers. [Source: Franklin George, a fiddler from West Virginia.] This particular iteration was performed by the Hillbillies from Mars, a San Francisco Bay Area band that has been playing traditional fiddle music for over 30 years, joined by Cindy Browne on bass. You can hear more of their music in the Google Play store.

Posted by Sophie Diao, Doodler

[9A]

September 24, 2018

Celebrating Altamira Cave







Charging bisons, wild horses, and mysterious handprints—primeval evidence of humanity’s creative genius, miraculously well preserved after some 36,000 years. Today’s Doodle celebrates the 139th anniversary of the first discovery of cave paintings at the Altamira caves in Cantabria, northern Spain—a masterpiece of the prehistoric era.

Nicknamed “the Sistine Chapel of paleolithic art,” Altamira was discovered in 1879 by the amateur botanist and archaeologist Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola who first noticed animal bones and flint tools there. He returned his daughter Maria, who first noticed the red and black paintings covering its walls and ceiling, rendered in charcoal and hematite, depicting animals including European bison and bulls.

Early claims of the caves’ paleolithic origin were mostly dismissed as fake. Some argued that the art, which includes abstract shapes as well as depictions of wildlife, was too sophisticated for the time. Then in 1902 a French study of Altamira proved these paintings were in fact paleolithic, dating to between 14,000 and 20,000 years ago. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Altamira caves are open for public visitation.

[9A]

September 24, 2011

Jim Henson's 75th Birthday







We’re thrilled to share this guest post by Brian Henson about his father—puppeteer, director and producer Jim Henson, best known as the creator of the Muppets. For the next 36 hours, we’re honoring Jim’s birthday on our homepage with a special doodle created in tandem withThe Jim Henson Company. -Ed.

When we were kids, my brother and sisters and I were always allowed to stay up late to watch our father’s appearances on The Tonight Show or The Ed Sullivan Show. No matter how late it was or how young we were, my mother would wake us up and trundle us down to the living room television. We’d be giddy—like Christmas. When he came home, he’d head down to the garage where he had a workshop, and repair everything that we broke while he was away—or build a dollhouse for one of my sisters. Jim never stopped making things.

He also loved games—card games, board games, all kinds of games. He was one of those rare parents who was always ready to play again. He loved dogs, particularly goofy ones. And he lived for those moments when everyone laughed so hard they couldn’t talk. I often walked onto the Muppet set to find everyone just laughing hysterically.

Although he loved family, his work was almost never about “traditional” families. The Muppets were a family—a very diverse one. One of his life philosophies was that we should love people not for their similarities, but for their differences.

Jim often had a little lesson about the important things in life: How to be a good person. How to believe in yourself and follow your dreams. And above all, how to forgive. If anything was stolen from one of us—like when the car was broken into—he would always say, “Oh well, they probably needed that stuff more than we did.”

He loved gadgets and technology. Following his lead, The Jim Henson Company continues to develop cutting-edge technology for animatronics and digital animation, like this cool Google doodle celebrating Jim’s 75th birthday. But I think even he would have found it hilarious the way today some people feel that when they’ve got their smartphone, they no longer need their brain.

Jim was clearly a great visionary. But he also wanted everyone around him fully committed creatively. If you asked him how a movie would turn out, he’d say, “It’ll be what this group can make, and if you changed any one of them, it would be a different movie.” Every day for him was joyously filled with the surprises of other people’s ideas. I often think that if we all lived like that, not only would life be more interesting, we’d all be a lot happier.

Posted by Brian Henson, Chairman of The Jim Henson Company