Google doodles

[9A]

5 March 2015

Momofuku Ando’s 105th Birthday





If you’ve ever needed to eat something quickly and cheaply, you may be familiar with this mantra:

"Peel off the lid.
Pour boiling water into the cup.
Let sit for three minutes.
Stir well and serve.”

With these four simple steps, Taiwanese-Japanese inventor Momofuku Ando introduced to the world instant ramen, a dish that not only revolutionized food but also serves as a testament to what hard work and perseverance can achieve. Our doodle for the inventor’s 105th birthday showcases Momofuku’s efforts to make instant noodles, but don’t let the speed of the animations fool you – it took Ando years to figure out the recipe!

“It took 48 years of my life for me to come up with the idea of instant noodles. Each and every event in the past is connected to the present by invisible threads.”
– Momofuku Ando

It was Ando’s passion and dedication that Doodler Sophie Diao wanted to get across in her artwork. Ando, a lifelong entrepreneur who started his first business at age 22, found the inspiration to his greatest success while walking through the streets of post-World War II Japan: People were waiting for hours in long lines, just for a comforting bowl of ramen. Realizing hunger was the most pressing issue facing Japan, he felt a desire to help the people of his country.

“People can only be content when there is enough food.”– Momofuku Ando

So in 1957, the inventor took on the task of developing a fast, cheap and tasty way to make Japan’s national comfort food – ramen. Ando’s long road to success inspired Diao to use multiple animations for the doodle, since one couldn't possibly do Momofuku justice. She also included the shed where Ando spent countless days and nights experimenting.

“

̈Inspiration leads to invention. Tenacity is the breeding ground for inspiration. There can be no invention in the absence of tenacity.”– Momofuku Ando

After months of hard work, Ando’s perseverance paid off. He eventually discovered that by flash-frying ramen noodles in tempura oil, tiny holes were created in the noodles that allowed them to cook nearly instantly once combined with hot water. It was a success, and customers were enthusiastic about the time they were saving. It was the first step to achieving Ando’s goal of ending world hunger.

“Peace will come to the world when all its people have enough to eat.”
– Momofuku Ando

After months of hard work, Ando’s perseverance paid off. He eventually discovered that by flash-frying ramen noodles in tempura oil, tiny holes were created in the noodles that allowed them to cook nearly instantly once combined with hot water. It was a success, and customers were enthusiastic about the time they were saving. It was the first step to achieving Ando’s goal of ending world hunger.

“Peace will come to the world when all its people have enough to eat.”
– Momofuku Ando

Utilizing a style reminiscent of classic Japanese Anime and inspiration from the labeling on food packaging, Diao wanted to turn Ando into a mascot for his greatest invention and display ramen’s universal appeal with a fun and lighthearted spirit.

“When you cast away all your greed and fixation in adversity, you can find unexpected strength.”– Momofuku Ando

Ando’s labor of love has had a lasting impact on people from all around the world, but he never let success stop him from working to improve instant ramen.In 1971, he introduced the world to Cup Noodles. Not stopping there, Ando then turned his focus toward inventing instant noodles that could be eaten in space. His rationale? “People have to eat no matter where they go, even outer space.” He was in his 90s when he debuted “Space Ram.”

“It is never too late to do anything in life.”–
Momofuku Ando

We hope you’ve enjoyed this tasty homage to a great inventor and humanitarian, whose creativity and devotion to ending hunger have forever changed the way we eat. As Momofuku Ando said, “Mankind is noodlekind.”

[9A]

8 December 2020

26th anniversary of the Grotte Chauvet Discovery



On this day in 1994, three speleologists [cave specialists] by the name of Jean-Marie Chauvet, Éliette Brunel, and Christian Hillaire were exploring in the Ardèche region of southern France when they happened upon something remarkable: an enormous display of what turned out to be some of the earliest-known and best-preserved figurative drawings ever made by humankind. Today’s Doodle celebrates this groundbreaking discovery–now known as Grotte Chauvet [French for Chauvet Cave]–which forever altered the archaeological understanding of prehistoric man’s artistic expression and creative development.

Through carbon dating, the extraordinary drawings have been traced back to the Aurignacian period over 30,000 years ago. Thanks to a rock fall that sealed the entrance more than 10,000 years later, the Chauvet Cave–and the more than 1,000 drawings documented on its limestone walls–then remained untouched, preserved for millennia in pristine quality.

As illustrated in today’s Doodle, the cave features depictions of 14 different species— from horses and lions to dangerous prehistoric creatures like the long-extinct wooly rhinoceros and mammoth. The deepest gallery features representations of the human body, while other walls display abstract series of red dots. The images demonstrate great artistic vision and technique through their anatomical accuracy, illusion of depth and movement, masterful use of colors, and skillful combination of both painting and engraving. In addition to the paintings, the cave is also home to human footprints and some 4,000 prehistoric animal fossils.

In recognition of the site's vast significance to the human story, UNESCO inscribed the Chauvet Cave onto the World Heritage List in 2014.

[9A]

18 December 2009

Jan Evangelista Purkyne's Birthday




Jan Evangelista Purkyně [17 or 18 December 1787 – 28 July 1869] was a Czech anatomist and physiologist. In 1839, he coined the term protoplasm for the fluid substance of a cell. He was one of the best known scientists of his time. Such was his fame that when people from outside Europe wrote letters to him, all that they needed to put as the address was "Purkyně, Europe".

[9A]

27 July 2018

Lyudmila Rudenko’s 114th Birthday



On this day in 1904, one of the world’s most influential chess players was born in Lubny, Ukraine. Twenty-four years later, Lyudmila Rudenko achieved the first major check[mate] in her storied career when she won the 1928 Moscow Women’s Championship. This championship was just one of the many prestigious titles she’d earn in her lifetime. As an International Master in the World Chess Federation [FIDE] and later Woman Grandmaster, Rudenko made a career paving the way for women to come.

Rudenko was first introduced to chess by her father at just ten years old. Initially interested in swimming, she placed first at a local competition in Odessa, Ukraine in the 400-meter breaststroke before moving to Moscow in 1925 and refining her gift for chess.

In 1950, Rudenko became the second woman ever to win the Women’s World Chess Championship—a title she held until 1953. In 2015, she was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame. In fact, despite her major accomplishments in the game, she considered her life’s most important achievement to be organizing the evacuation of children during the Siege of Leningrad in World War II.

Today’s Doodle—which draws artistic inspiration from 1960s graphic art and posters—reimagines a focused Rudenko’s determination during the world championship game.

On what would’ve been her 114th birthday, we honor Rudenko’s achievements both on and off the board.

Cднем ​​рождения, Lyudmila!

[9A]

3 October 2019

180th Anniversary of the First Italian Railroad Inauguration





On this day in 1839, a steam locomotive called Vesuvio pulled an eight-carriage train from Portici to Naples, inaugurating the first Italian Railroad. Today’s Doodle celebrates the historic event that ushered a new era in transportation and put Italy on the fast track to unification.

Departing at noon, the train completed the four-and-a-half-mile journey to Naples in less than 10 minutes, carrying passengers including King Ferdinand II of Bourbon, King of the Two Sicilies—or Regno delle Due Sicilie as Naples and Sicily were then known—as well as the French engineer Armando Giuseppe Bayard de la Vingtrie, whom King Ferdinand hired to construct the railway.

More than 85,000 passengers rode the line during the following two months, proving that there was public demand. In years to come, new ferrovie [[or “iron ways”) were laid down, connecting the capital city of Naples to Caserta in the north as far south as Salerno.

When Vesuvio made its maiden voyage, the Italian peninsula was still divided territory—but the establishment of railways helped to unite the Kingdom of Italy. By the time of unification in 1861, over 1400 miles of railway crisscrossed the country. The new government expanded the national railway network, and by 1875, some 5,600 miles [about 9,012 kilometers] of track connected most of Italy’s major cities. In years to come railways would provide a means of transporting perishable food in refrigerated cars, facilitating trade between regions.

Trains have played a vital role in Italian history and culture, inspiring art from folk songs to posters, showing the profound impact of train travel.

Tutti a bordo!

[9A]

15 January 2019

Celebrating Sake Dean Mahomed


A man of many talents, Sake Dean Mahomed was an entrepreneur who made a name for himself by building cultural connections between India and England. On this day in 1794, he became the first Indian author to publish a book in English and later, to open an Indian restaurant in England—ushering in what would become one of Great Britain’s most popular cuisines. Mahomed went on to find success as the “The Shampooing Surgeon of Brighton,” opening a spa in the British seaside town that attracted the rich and royal.

In 1810, after moving to London, Mahomed opened the Hindostanee Coffee House, Britain’s first Indian restaurant. The Epicure’s Almanack—an early London restaurant guide—hailed it as a place for nobility to enjoy hookah and Indian dishes of the highest perfection. Nonetheless, Mahomed was forced to close his luxurious restaurant in 1812 and sought to reinvent himself.


Moving his family to the beachside town of Brighton, he opened a spa named Mahomed’s Baths offering luxurious herbal steam baths. His specialty was a combination of a steam bath and an Indian therapeutic massage—a treatment he named “shampooing” inspired by the Hindi word champissage meaning “a head massage.” He also published a book about the therapeutic benefits of the treatment with testimonials from his patients. In 1822, King George IV appointed Mahomed as his personal ‘shampooing surgeon’, which greatly improved his business. A portrait of Mahomed hangs in the Brighton Museum, commemorating this man who helped merge the cultures of his two homelands.


Happy Birthday, Sake Dean Mahomed!

[9A]

15 January 2021

Celebrating Dr James Naismith





Today’s Doodle celebrates Canadian-American physical educator, professor, doctor, and coach Dr. James Naismith, who invented the game of basketball in 1891. On this day of the following year, Naismith announced the new game and its original rules in the pages of “The Triangle,” a Springfield College school newspaper. From its humble beginnings in a school gymnasium, the sport has grown into an international colossus played in over 200 countries today.

James Naismith was born on November 6, 1861, near the town of Almonte in Ontario, Canada. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from McGill University, and in 1890 took a job as an instructor at the YMCA International Training College in Springfield, Massachusetts. Here, he was tasked to develop an indoor game that could occupy students during the unforgiving New England winters. With two peach baskets, a soccer ball, and just ten rules, the game of “basket ball” was born.

Introduced to Naismith’s class on December 21, 1891, the game initially featured teams of nine players and combined elements of outdoor sports such as American football, soccer, and field hockey. Despite initial skepticism, the sport exploded in popularity over the following years, and in 1936, basketball made its Olympic debut in Berlin, Germany. None other than the sport’s founder—James Naismith—threw the ball for the tip-off to commence the first game.

Naismith envisioned basketball as a way for all students to better themselves physically and mentally. The sport was introduced in a time when schools were segregated, but Naismith saw everyone as someone with potential for the game. In his lifetime, he took steps to help basketball reach more young people, and it has since evolved into a global phenomenon that crosses racial and gender barriers.

In 1959, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame was incorporated in Springfield, Massachusetts, and this mecca of basketball history carries on Naismith’s legacy to this day.

Here’s to Dr. James Naismith—thank you for creating one of the world’s favorite pastimes!

[9A]

15 January 2004

Spirit Lands on Mars


Spirit landed successfully within the impact crater Gusev on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity [MER-B], which landed on the other side of the planet.

[9A]

15 January 2014

Josip Vandot's 130th Birthday [born 1884]


Josip Vandot was a Slovene writer and poet who wrote mainly for young readers.

[9A]

15 January 2019

Celebrating Sake Dean Mahomed




A man of many talents, Sake Dean Mahomed was an entrepreneur who made a name for himself by building cultural connections between India and England. On this day in 1794, he became the first Indian author to publish a book in English and later, to open an Indian restaurant in England—ushering in what would become one of Great Britain’s most popular cuisines. Mahomed went on to find success as the “The Shampooing Surgeon of Brighton,” opening a spa in the British seaside town that attracted the rich and royal.

In 1810, after moving to London, Mahomed opened the Hindostanee Coffee House, Britain’s first Indian restaurant. The Epicure’s Almanack—an early London restaurant guide—hailed it as a place for nobility to enjoy hookah and Indian dishes of the highest perfection. Nonetheless, Mahomed was forced to close his luxurious restaurant in 1812 and sought to reinvent himself.


Moving his family to the beachside town of Brighton, he opened a spa named Mahomed’s Baths offering luxurious herbal steam baths. His specialty was a combination of a steam bath and an Indian therapeutic massage—a treatment he named “shampooing” inspired by the Hindi word champissage meaning “a head massage.” He also published a book about the therapeutic benefits of the treatment with testimonials from his patients. In 1822, King George IV appointed Mahomed as his personal ‘shampooing surgeon’, which greatly improved his business. A portrait of Mahomed hangs in the Brighton Museum, commemorating this man who helped merge the cultures of his two homelands.


Happy Birthday, Sake Dean Mahomed!

[9A]

11 January 2012

Nicolas Steno's 374th Birthday





Known as the father of stratigraphy and geology, Nicholas Steno worked to understand history by what he could find in the ground. Rather than simply write books about his findings, Steno opted to do his own hands-on research. As an innovative thinker, he disagreed with his contemporaries in thinking that shark-tooth-shaped objects found imbedded in rocks "fell from the sky." Instead, Steno argued that these formations were fossils. His dedication to analysis, critical thinking, and creative thinking make him a great subject for a Google doodle!

Considering Steno's contributions to stratigraphy and geology, I wanted to honor his birthday with a unique take on his work. I knew that the colorful and geeky aesthetic of stratigraphy was the right direction for the doodle, but the team and I weren't sure how to apply it. Should we set the doodle in the middle of the country? Should we relate it to Google culture? Should I just make things up? Below are the exploration sketches.









After consulting a few geology nerds within Google, I decided to set the land in our very own Mountain View! I learned an interesting fact about our home-- there are no dinosaur fossils in the Bay Area [except for Stan of course].

Also staying a little more faithful to stratigraphy graphs, I formed the Google logo as though it was cut from a chunk of three dimensional land. Below are early drafts of the final direction.





There were so many different ways to think about Steno and his studies, it was a challenge and pleasure to honor such a fascinating person!

posted by Jennifer Hom

[9A]

11 January 2010

Coming of Age Day 2010




Coming of Age Day [成人の日, Seijin no Hi] is a Japanese holiday held annually on the second Monday of January. ... Festivities include coming of age ceremonies [成人式, seijin-shiki] held at local and prefectural offices, as well as after-parties among family and friends.

[9A]

11 January 2019

Celebrating Earl Scruggs



“Here’s old Earl Scruggs with his fancy five-string banjo,” the introduction for the bluegrass banjo master’s Grand Ole Opry show stated. Today's Doodle celebrates Earl Scruggs, the man who developed the “Scruggs style” [his own three-finger method of picking] on the anniversary of the opening of the Earl Scruggs Center in 2014. His innovation changed the sound of American roots music, but fancy was not a word Scruggs would use to describe his beloved banjo. “It’s just an old hand-me-down,” he said of the Gibson Granada he’d played since the 1940s.

Born in North Carolina on January 6, 1924, Scruggs grew up working on the family farm and playing the banjo. He was 21 years old when he joined Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys band, whose sound coined the term “bluegrass music.” In that band, Scruggs met guitarist Lester Flatt with whom he would launch the Foggy Mountain Boys in the late 1940s. Their televised Flatt & Scruggs Grand Ole Opry show premiered in 1955 and gained a new wave of popularity during the folk music revival, running through 1969.

After Flatt & Scruggs split up in 1969, Earl found new fans when he bridged generations and musical genres by forming the “Earl Scruggs Revue” with sons Gary and Randy. From 1969 to 1980, the Revue was a pioneering band in merging country and bluegrass sounds with elements from rock music. In his latter years, Earl’s musical journey continued with his “Family & Friends” band.

Earl’s wife Louise Scruggs became one of the first female managers in the music industry when she began managing Flatt & Scruggs. The duo’s music appeared in the theme song for The Beverly Hillbillies and their “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” was included on the soundtrack to the 1967 film Bonnie & Clyde.

Scruggs was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, and the Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame. He received several other awards and honors, including the prestigious National Medal of the Arts and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

All because, as Flatt used to put it: “He kind of likes to show off anyway, pickin’ the hot stuff.”

[9A]

5 July 2016

Carmen Costa’s 96th Birthday




Throughout the years, the voice of Afro-Brazilian singer Carmen Costa has reverberated from radios, record players, boomboxes and more, with songs such as "Está Chegando A Hora," living on as a festival anthem. Beginning her music career in her late teens in the early 1940s, Costa went on to share the stage with some of the most respected samba and bossa nova artists and musicians of the 20th century. She also spent time touring and living in the U.S. where she appeared in film and produced a long list of hit records.

Born in Rio de Janeiro on July 5th 1920, today’s Doodle celebrates what would have been Costa’s 96th birthday.

[9A]

5 July 2017

Venezuela National Day 2017




On July 5, 1811, Venezuela became the first independent state in South America. Venezuelans celebrate this special day with parades, cultural shows, street gatherings, and of course fireworks!

Like its vibrant heritage of African, Spanish, and indigenous influences, Venezuela's terrain is vast. Islands and coastal plains surround the Andes to the north. Along the Orinoco River to the south lie savannas and tropical rainforests.

Today’s Doodle showcases the Morrocoy National Park in northwest Venezuela. The crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean Sea line the 79,296-acre park, and the sea and the park together nourish hundreds of bird species and ocean wildlife, including flamingos, pelicans, turtles, and dolphins.

Happy Independence Day, Venezuela!

[9A]

5 July 2013

Venezuela Independence Day 2013



Independence Day, also known as the Fifth of July [Cinco de Julio] is the national independence holiday of Venezuela, marked every year on July 5 which celebrates the anniversary since the enactment of the 1811 Venezuelan Declaration of Independence, making the country the first Spanish colony in South America to declare independence. In recent years, it is also marked as National Armed Forces Day [Día de la Fuerza Armada Nacional] to honor the faithful service of all the serving men and women and veterans of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela.

The Caracas Independence Day parade, or Joint Civil-Military Parade of the 5th of July is one of the largest in the Americas.

The Venezuelan troupial [Icterus icterus] is the national bird of Venezuela. It is found in Colombia, Venezuela, and the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Trinidad, and Puerto Rico. Previously part of a superspecies simply named the troupial, it was recently split together with the orange-backed troupial and Campo troupial.

[9A]

24 September 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]

18 December 2020

Qatar National Day 2020




Today’s Doodle celebrates Qatar’s National Day, an annual public holiday that commemorates the Arab nation’s freedom and unification.

Illustrated in the Doodle artwork is Qatar’s maroon and white national flag, which was formally adopted in 1971, the year the country declared its independence. The maroon color–today called “Qatar maroon”–is believed to date back centuries to the Bronze Age, when early settlers utilized local shellfish to create purple-red dye. The distinctive colorant became a popular export and was used in royal garments. This color has come to hold great importance to Qatar’s national identity and today serves as a symbol of the country’s cultural heritage and history.

Happy National Day, Qatar!

[9A]

8 December 2013

Qatar National Day 2013





Qatar became a pearl trading center by the 8th century.

[9A]

18 January 2013

Rubén Darío's 146th Birthday



Félix Rubén García Sarmiento was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-American literary movement known as modernismo [modernism] that flourished at the end of the 19th century. Darío had a great and lasting influence on 20th-century Spanish literature and journalism. He has been praised as the "Prince of Castilian Letters" and undisputed father of the modernismo literary movement.

[9A]

25 January 2020

Lunar New Year 2020 [Vietnam]




In Vietnam, each lunar year is represented by one of twelve animals in the rotation of the Vietnamese zodiac calendar—and 2020 is the Year of the Rat!

Today’s Doodle commemorates one of the most significant national holidays in Vietnam, Tết Nguyên Đán [Tết for short]⁠, or the country’s observance of the Lunar New Year. It depicts the story of the grand race that earned the rat its premier spot in the calendar.

According to ancient legend, an emperor challenged different animals to race through the land to determine their order in the Zodiac. Due to his size, the rat knew it could not cross a river on his own, so he hitched a ride on the water buffalo’s back. But, just before reaching the opposite shore over a river, the rat then cleverly leapt off—winning first place in the race and thus the zodiac calendar!

Often viewed as an opportunity for new beginnings, this multi-day celebration gathers loved ones together as they look forward to the year to come, perhaps while enjoying new flower blossoms and sharing some traditional sticky rice cakes.

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!

[9A]

25 January 2022

Giorgio Gaber's 83rd birthday



Today’s Doodle celebrates the 83rd birthday of Italian singer-songwriter, playwright, and performer Giorgio Gaber. He is best known and remembered as a pioneer of teatro canzone [theater song], a reflection of Milanese society captured through the fusion of music, poetry, and theater.

Born into a musical family in Milan, Italy on this day in 1939, Giorgio Gaberscik first developed a love for music while playing the guitar as therapy for a hand injury. He later learned to sing, and in his early twenties, Gaber co-produced Italy’s first rock ’n’ roll song—Ciao ti dirò [“Ciao, I will tell you”]. During the 1960s, Gaber primarily performed on television, where his purposeful and entertaining songwriting enraptured audiences by intelligently engaging with Milan’s changing cultural landscape.

In 1969, he released Com'è bella la città [How Beautiful the City Is], which remains among his best known works for its focus on contemporary social concerns. To establish a more personal connection with audiences, Gaber transitioned almost exclusively to the theater stage in 1970. His emotional and complex theatrical performances examined Italian society and encouraged an introspective national dialogue.

Over the next 30 years, Gaber refined the teatro canzone medium with hundreds of shows per year. This monumental oeuvre demonstrated that music, monologues, and comedy were tools to expand one’s emotional limits while reflecting on shared national realities. In honor of Gaber’s contributions, a historical Milanese opera house was reopened under his name as the Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber in 2003.

[9A]

12 Jan 2015

11th Anniversary of Kimani Maruge's First Day of School




It’s never too late to learn something new. On this day 11 years ago, Kenyan Kimani Maruge enrolled in primary school at the ripe age of 84, becoming the world’s oldest person to start elementary school. But Maruge’s love for education didn’t end there. In 2005, he boarded a plane–for the very first time–to address the U.N. on the importance of free primary school. 

[9A]

12 January 2016

Charles Perrault’s 388th Birthday




What's that story, with the glass slipper and the pumpkin that turns into a carriage? How about the one where a princess falls into a deep sleep when she pricks her hand on a spindle? We owe the Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty narratives we've known since childhood to Charles Perrault, the 17th-century French author and academician. Perrault was born in Paris 388 years ago today, and spent most of his life in the court of Louis XIV. He began writing his famous stories only in his late sixties, after having retired.

For today's Doodle, artist Sophie Diao created tableaux for Perrault's "Mother Goose" stories [Les Contes de ma Mère l'Oye, 1697]: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Puss in Boots.

Perrault's stories set the standard for the modern fairy tale. Perrault borrowed basic plots and the familiar opening "once upon a time" [[il était une fois) from traditional stories told aloud, while modernizing them with both fashionable embellishments and the very act of putting them into writing. [[The publication of the tales coincides with the rise of the modern novel: they came after Don Quixote and La Princesse de Clèves, but before Robinson Crusoe and Tom Jones). The backbone of these fairy tales persist within contemporary novels and movies, making our reading or cinema-going a fundamentally optimistic venture: when we hear "once upon a time," we've come to expect—and anxiously await—a "happily ever after."

[9A]

12 January 2013

Children's Day 2013 [Thailand]

[9A]

9 August 2020

Celebrating Mekatilili wa Menza





Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Nairobi-based guest artist Wanjira Kinyua, celebrates legendary Kenyan activist Mekatilili wa Menza, known for inspiring the Giriama people to resist colonial rule in the early 20th century. Today on the Kenyan coast, the resilient legacy of Menza is commemorated during the festivities of the traditional Malindi Cultural Festival, an annual celebration of local history and pride.

Mnyazi wa Menza was born in the Giriama village of Matsara wa Tsatsu in coastal Kenya during the mid-19th century. By the early 20th century, British colonial rule had threatened the sovereignty and freedom of the Giriama people with forced labor and taxation. At a time when women’s power was limited within her society, Menza was compelled to organize her people against colonial control.

Today revered as one of Kenya’s first Mau Maus [[freedom fighters), Menza traveled from village to village spreading messages of opposition, performing the ecstatic native dance of kifudu to draw large crowds and then unleashing her powerful oratory skills to garner support. Today’s Doodle artwork features a depiction of Menza leading the energetic kifudu dance that called so many to action.

Menza’s leadership contributed to uprisings by the Giriama against the British in 1913 and 1914, and despite her multiple arrests and imprisonments, her campaign of resistance proved successful. The British ultimately relaxed control of the region, effectively granting the demands for which Menza and the Giriama had fought tirelessly for.

[9A]

2 February 2021

Safiye Ali's 127th birthday




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Izmir, Turkey-based guest artist Hüseyin Sönmezay, celebrates Turkish doctor, educator, author, and social reformer Safiye Ali who is widely credited as the nation’s first female doctor. Born on this day in 1884 in Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire [now Turkey], Ali dedicated herself to the improvement of women’s education on medical issues and fought tirelessly to protect the health of the country’s children.

During an era when education was largely a male domain, Ali attended the American College for Girls in Istanbul, and there she set her sights on becoming a doctor. She then traveled to Germany on a scholarship to pursue a degree from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Würzburg. A gifted student, Ali earned first place in the senior examination in medicine and graduated in 1921. With a specialization in gynecology and pediatrics, she returned to Istanbul and revolutionized her field when she opened her first clinic in 1923.

In addition to treating patients, Ali led numerous impactful organizations like Süt Damlası [Milk Drop], which worked to provide education and medical services to mothers and young children. Committed to the power of education, Ali wrote multiple books and eventually taught at the American College for Girls. It is here she once again made history, this time as the first female lecturer to provide a medical education to women. A testament to Ali’s renowned stature in the medical field, she also represented Turkey in numerous congresses across Europe.

Happy birthday, Safiye Ali, and thank you for inspiring future generations of women to practice medicine.

[9A]

2 February 2004

Gaston Julia's 111th Birthday



Gaston Maurice Julia [3 February 1893 – 19 March 1978[ was a French mathematician who devised the formula for the Julia set. His works were popularized by French mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot; the Julia and Mandelbrot fractals are closely related.

[9A]

2 February 2009

Alpine Skiing World Cup 2009




The International Ski Federation [FIS] Alpine Ski World Cup is the premier circuit for alpine skiing competition. The inaugural season launched in January 1967, and the 2021–22 season marks the 56th consecutive year for the FIS World Cup.

[9A]

2 February 2015

Chen Cheng-po's 120th birthday





Chen Ching-Po [born 1 October 1931] is a Taiwanese professional golfer. He represented Chinese Taipei in 11 successive Canada Cup tournaments from 1956 to 1966 and won the Japan Open Golf Championship in 1959.

He was described as the "Ben Hogan of Asia" by Gene Sarazen due to the similarities between their swings.

[9A]

2 February 2011

Lunar New Year's Eve 2011 - Korea

[9A]

16 August 2014

Diana Wynne Jones' 80th Birthday



Diana Wynne Jones [16 August 1934 – 26 March 2011] was an English novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, and short story writer. She principally wrote fantasy and speculative fiction novels for children and young adults. Although usually described as fantasy, some of her work also incorporates science fiction themes and elements of realism. Jones' work often explores themes of time travel and parallel or multiple universes. Some of her better-known works are the Chrestomanci series, the Dalemark series, the three Moving Castle novels, Dark Lord of Derkholm, and The Tough Guide to Fantasyland.

Jones has been cited as an inspiration and muse for several fantasy and science fiction authors including Philip Pullman, Terry Pratchett, Penelope Lively, Robin McKinley, Dina Rabinovitch, Megan Whalen Turner, J.K. Rowling and Neil Gaiman, with Gaiman describing her as "quite simply the best writer for children of her generation" Her work has been nominated for several awards. She was twice a finalist for the Hugo Award, nominated fourteen times for the Locus Award, seven times for the Mythopoeic Award [which she won twice], twice for a British Fantasy Award [won in 1999], and twice for a World Fantasy Award, which she would also win in 2007.

[9A]

23 May 2021

Celebrating the Obelisk of Buenos Aires





The Obelisk of Buenos Aires towers over Argentina as a symbol of national pride. Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Buenos Aires-based guest artists Carolina Silvero and Juan Elizalde of Estudio Guardabosques, celebrates this historic monument, which was inaugurated on this day in 1936 in honor of four centuries since Buenos Aires’ foundation.

Built in just 31 days from blocks of white Córdoba stone, the monument juts into the skyline where the Argentinian flag was first hoisted above Buenos Aires in 1536. Designed by illustrious Argentine architect Alberto Prebisch, each of the four shafts of the Obelisk signifies critical moments of Buenos Aires history: the city’s foundation in 1536 and again in 1580, the first celebration of the Argentinian flag in 1812, and the induction of Buenos Aires as the nation’s capital in 1880.

But the strategic location of the monument carries much more than just historical significance. The Obelisk also stands at the intersection of two of the capital’s iconic streets: Avenida Corrientes and Avenida 9 de Julio. Underneath the landmark, three of the city’s underground metro lines converge, making it a magnetic meet-up spot for the sprawling Argentine megalopolis.

While today’s Doodle artwork scales down the monument, you can enjoy a view of the over 200-foot tall Obelisk from many parts of the Argentine capital.

[9A]

23 May 2014

Otto Lilienthal's 166th Birthday





A crowd gathers to watch the “Gilder King” Otto Lilienthal in flight on our homepage in Germany today. A pioneer in aviation, Lilienthal is known for his work on heavier-than-air flight, and was an inspiration for the Wright Brothers among others.

[9A]

12 October 2021

Paulette Nardal's 125th birthday





Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Amsterdam, Netherlands-based guest artist Jessica Coppet, celebrates the 125th birthday of Martinican-French author Paulette Nardal. She is widely considered one of the founders of Négritude, an intellectual movement produced by Black artists and writers who joined in solidarity to champion their cultural heritage and carve out space in the prevailing literary world for Black voices.

Born on this day in 1896 in Saint-Pierre, a French colonial town on the Caribbean island of Martinique, Félix Jeanne Paulette Nardal was the daughter of one of Martinique’s first Black engineers in the Department of Public Works. Nardal followed suit and established a trailblazing legacy of her own when she arrived in Paris in 1920 and became the first Black woman from Martinique to enroll at the city’s prestigious university, La Sorbonne, earning a master’s degree in English.

In the 1920s, members of the French Black community, many being West Indian immigrants like Nardal, often faced intense racial discrimination. Paulette Nardal and her sister Jane opened a Paris salon called Le Salon de Clamart in 1929 as an intellectual meeting ground to reflect on the Black condition. Known for its hospitality and elegance, the well-appointed salon allowed Nardal to gather intellectuals for conversation and mutual support. Scholars credit this salon as the birthplace of the Négritude movement, which Nardal helped initiate by authoring social commentary articles in the review journal “La Revue du monde noir” [“The Review of the Black World”].

Another significant moment of her life occurred at the beginning of World War II. Nardal left Martinique for France but suffered a lifelong injury when a submarine attacked her ship. Her demand for France to recognize her as a civilian war victim and survivor highlights the convergence of race, gender, disability, and citizenship. This event eventually inspired Nardal to establish organizations and newspapers encouraging educated women to channel their energies into social improvement and suffrage.

Nardal rose to prominence through her writings and fostered an international community of Black women who broke down barriers across race, class, and educational status. In recognition of her unifying work, Nardal was elected as a delegate to the United Nations in 1946 and was awarded the Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1976, the nation’s highest honor. There is the Promenade Jane-et-Paulette Nardal located on 100 rue Didot in Paris, and a plaque honors Nardal’s legacy in the Paris suburb of Clamart, where her salon catalyzed an international movement.

Happy Birthday, Paulette Nardal!

[9A]

11 March 2021

Astor Piazzolla's 100th birthday




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Buenos Aires-based guest artist José Saccone, celebrates Argentine composer and virtuosic bandoneón player Astor Piazzolla, who revolutionized traditional tango to create a hybrid genre known as “nuevo tango.”

Astor Piazzolla was born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 1921 and moved with his family to New York City at a young age. When his father bought him a bandoneón, an Argentine accordion-like instrument that is essential to the tango sound, he quickly became known as a child prodigy and wrote his first tango at 11.

In 1937, he returned to Argentina where traditional tango still reigned supreme. Once home, Piazzolla actually gave up tango to study classical music and become a modernist classical composer. He traveled to Paris on a scholarship to apprentice under eminent French composer Nadia Boulanger, who prepared him for his next return home in 1955. Back in Argentina, he applied years of classical study to the tango sound and formed his band “Octeto Buenos Aires.” Coined as the “nuevo tango,” Piazolla's fresh take incorporated elements of jazz and classical music with new instruments, changing the tempo, the sound, and the tradition of dance.

Throughout his life, it’s estimated that Piazzolla wrote approximately 3,000 original compositions and recorded another 500. In honor of his 100th birthday, the Astor Piazzolla Foundation recently announced the Piazzolla Music competition for soloists and ensembles alike.

Happy birthday, Astor Piazzolla!

[9A]

11 March 2016

Ratchanee Sripaiwan's 86th Birthday



Happy 86th Birthday Ratchanee Sripaiwan!

If you grew up in Thailand or learned Thai in primary school, chances are you've heard of Manee and her friends. In Sripaiwan's beautifully illustrated book "Manee, Mana, Piti, and Chujai," readers learned the อักษรไทย while exploring Manee's village and following her adventures.

Sripaiwan's exquisite mastery of the Thai language and passion for education guided students across the globe. Not only did readers learn basic Thai language, grammar, and sentence structure, they lived and loved Sripaiwan's tales. The textbooks were first approved for educational use in 1956 and were used for grades 1-6 from 1978 to 1994. When Sripaiwan passed away in 2014, these books were reprinted to honor her life's work — educating and delighting another generation.

Today's Doodle by Alyssa Winans reflects the signature style of illustrators and close collaborators Triam Chachumporn, Ohm Rajjavej, and Pathom Puapimon. The image of Mana and Manee captures the effortless charm and elegance of Ratchanee Sripaiwan's books.

[9A]

12 October 2020

Oğuz Atay’s 86th Birthday




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Istanbul-based guest artist Enes Diriğ, celebrates the 86th birthday of Turkish author, playwright, engineer, and professor Oğuz Atay. His 1972 novel “Tutunamayanlar” [“The Disconnected”] is widely acclaimed as one of the most significant Turkish novels of the 20th century. With his reliance on shifting narrative perspectives and blend of dreams and reality, Atay was among the first Turkish writers to explore the postmodern style known as metafiction.

Oğuz Atay was born on this day in 1934, in İnebolu, a coastal town on the Black Sea in the Kastamonu Province of Turkey. Raised in a well-connected family, he received a top education and went on to pursue a career in the field of civil engineering. In 1960, Atay became a lecturer at the Istanbul State Engineering and Architecture Academy, but it was the fiction he wrote in his downtime that came to define his legacy.

Atay entered the limelight of Turkish literature with the publication of “Tutunamayanlar” in 1972, a towering literary achievement which he followed up with a rapid string of novels through the ‘70s. All the while, he continued his teaching career and in 1975 was made an associate professor.

Atay’s “Tutunamayanlar” was identified by UNESCO in 2002 as an important literary work in need of an English translation. It has since been translated into English, Dutch, and German, opening Atay’s seminal novel to non-Turkish readers around the world.


Happy birthday, Oğuz Atay!

[9A]

24 March 2011

Harry Houdini's 137th Birthday




Harry Houdini [born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926] was a Hungarian-American escape artist, illusionist, stunt performer and mysteriarch, noted for his escape acts.

He first attracted notice in vaudeville in the United States and then as "Harry 'Handcuff' Houdini" on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it.

In 1904, thousands watched as he tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's Daily Mirror, keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini presented himself as the scourge of fake spiritualists. As President of the Society of American Magicians, he was keen to uphold professional standards and expose fraudulent artists. He was also quick to sue anyone who imitated his escape stunts.

Harry Houdini died of peritonitis, secondary to a ruptured appendix, at 1:26 p.m. on October 31, 1926, in Room 401 at Detroit's Grace Hospital, aged 52. In his final days, he believed that he would recover, but his last words before dying were reportedly, "I'm tired of fighting... I do not want to fight anymore..."



"Handcuff" Harry Houdini, c. 1905

[9A]

24 March 2008

Béla Bartók's 127th Birthday



Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hungary's greatest composers. Through his collection and analytical study of folk music, he was one of the founders of comparative musicology, which later became ethnomusicology.

[9A]

24 March 2016

Klavdiya Shulzhenko’s 110th birthday






In July 1942, the city of Leningrad was under siege. The front, manned by hardscrabble soldiers, was bleak and brutal. But one bright voice emerged, bringing hope and harmony to the blockade. Actress and singer Klavdiya Shulzhenko co-founded a jazz band and volunteered her talents to the Red Army as they defended Leningrad. She became legendary in the trenches, singing hundreds of times as the siege went on. And at her 500th wartime performance in 1942, she was awarded the Order of the Red Star — the rarest of honors for a Soviet artist.

We pay tribute to Shulzhenko on what would have been her 110th birthday with a Doodle by Jennifer Hom representing “The Blue Headscarf.” This song, a much-loved tribute to Soviet wartime duty, was her masterpiece, and Jennifer’s art captures the reassurance and optimism in its lyrics. Happy Birthday to Klavdiya Shulzhenko whose soaring melodies inspired a nation.

[9A]

13 May 2019

60th Anniversary of Torres del Paine National Park





Described by an early visitor as "one of the most ... spectacular sights that human imagination can conceive," Torres del Paine became a national park on this day in 1959. Initially named Lago Grey, the park was expanded and renamed in 1970. Today’s Doodle celebrates the splendor of this natural treasure situated near the Andes mountains at the southernmost tip of Chile.

First settled by the ancient Aonikenk people, Parque Nacional Torres del Paine takes its name from the Paine Massif mountain range and three granite torres or towers that rise some 2000 meters above the Patagonian steppe.

The rugged beauty of the land—forests, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and an enormous blue glacier—attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to enjoy camping, hiking, cycling, kayaking, and boating. Since the 15th century, the area has also been home to the nomadic Kaweskar people who coexist with wild pumas, condors, and llama-like creatures known as guanacos.

The national park was added to UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserve system in 1978 and even received 5 million votes to be elected the “Eighth Wonder of the World” in 2013.

[9A]

13 May 2010

'Children's Day' [Sweden – SE]

[9A]

13 May 2021

Zofia Stryjeńska's 130th birthday




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Poland-based guest artist Dixie Leota, celebrates the 130th birthday of Polish painter, graphic designer, illustrator, and stage designer Zofia Stryjeńska, who is widely regarded as one of the most significant Polish art deco artists of the early 1900s. Across its countless mediums, Stryjeńska’s bold and adventurous work mirrors her personality as an uncompromising heroine of creativity and artistic expression.

Born Zofia Lubańska on this day in 1891 in Kraków, Poland, Zofia Stryjeńska began painting caricatures of her father’s customers in his glove shop, developing a talent that became her life’s passion. But gender barriers stood in the way of her artistic pursuits; barriers she was determined to break. As the Munich Academy of Fine Arts—her top choice of schools—was a traditionally all-male institution, Stryjeńska cut her hair and attended the university disguised as a man. But after a year in Munich, the pressure of keeping her identity hidden pushed her to return home to Kraków.

Inspired by the history of her national identity, Stryjeńska began her career at 21 with a series of paintings based on Polish folklore. This modern take on a traditional art form became her hallmark; a style that gained popularity as Poland had recently regained its independence in 1911 and its citizens cherished their historical iconography. Her 1917 series of surrealist lithographs entitled “Bożki Słowiańskie” [“Slavic Idols”] saw massive success and was printed on everything from postcards to chocolates.

An expert of folk costumes and Slavic mythology, Stryjeńska expressed the love of her heritage in work that ranged from wooden chess pieces to ballet costumes, like those designed for the 1930s Polish ballet “Harnasie.”

Happy birthday, Zofia Stryjeńska!

[9A]

10 January 2020

Vicente Huidobro's 127th Birthday





Today’s Doodle, illustrated by London-based guest artist Luisa Rivera, celebrates avant-garde Chilean poet and writer Vicente Huidobro on his 127th birthday. Widely known as the “father of the Creacionismo [Creationism] literary movement,” Huidobro refused to be confined by literary orthodoxy. Instead, he used the written word to push the limits of creativity.

Vicente García-Huidobro Fernández was born in 1893 in Santiago, Chile. He became a poet like his mother, first published at the early age of 12, and went on to study literature at the University of Chile.

Gradually, he began to feel confined by traditional poetic standards, and in 1914 he rejected them in his manifesto, Non Serviam [“I Will Not Serve”].

Huidobro moved to Paris to collaborate with surrealist poets Guillaume Apollinaire and Pierre Reverdy on the literary magazine they founded, Nord-sud [North-South]. In Paris, he invented Creacionismo, the idea that poets should create their own imaginary worlds instead of writing about nature in traditional styles with traditional language. Poemas árticos [“Arctic Poems,” 1918] and Saisons Choisies [“Chosen Seasons,” 1921] are some examples, but the 1931 long-form poem Altazor is Huidobro’s definitive Creacionismo work.

His well-known lines from his poem Arte Poetica [Poetic Art], “Let the verse be like a key / That opens a thousand doors,” represents his style and inspired today’s Doodle art, which infuses different images that appear in his poetry.

Huidobro wrote over 40 books, including plays, novels, manifestos, and poetry. He constantly encouraged literary experimentation and influenced many Latin American poets who succeeded him.

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Vicente Huidobro!

[9A]

10 January 2014

Annette von Droste-Hülshoff's 217th Birthday




Baroness Anna Elisabeth Franziska Adolphine Wilhelmine Louise Maria von Droste zu Hülshoff, known as Annette von Droste-Hülshoff was a 19th-century German poet, novelist, and composer of Classical music. She was also the author of the novella Die Judenbuche.

[9A]

15 Jan 2014

Sofia Kovalevskaya's 164th Birthday




Sofya Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya, was a Russian mathematician who made noteworthy contributions to analysis, partial differential equations and mechanics. She was a pioneer for women in mathematics around the world – the first woman to obtain a doctorate [in the modern sense] in mathematics, the first woman appointed to a full professorship in northern Europe and one of the first women to work for a scientific journal as an editor. According to historian of science Ann Hibner Koblitz, Kovalevskaya was "the greatest known woman scientist before the twentieth century".

[9A]

15 January 2014

The 255th anniversary of the British Museum





The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It documents the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present.[a] The British Museum was the first public national museum in the world.

The Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the Anglo-Irish physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. It first opened to the public in 1759, in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. The museum's expansion over the following 250 years was largely a result of British colonisation and has resulted in the creation of several branch institutions, or independent spin-offs, the first being the Natural History Museum in 1881.

[9A]

2 September 2018

Vietnam National Day 2018





Rising from beneath the water to open at dawn, the fragrant lotus seen in today’s Doodle is the national flower of Vietnam. A symbol of hope, the pink and white blossom is also associated with purity—which is woven into Vietnamese culture, medicine, architecture, and cuisine. The traditional Lotus Dance dates back to the 1600s, when it was performed in royal palaces celebrating the birth of Buddha. The archways over Ho Chi Minh City’s Nguyen Hue Boulevard are giant neon lotus flowers, and many Vietnamese dishes include lotus root slices.

In cities and towns all over Vietnam, friends and family get together in celebration of National Day. Parties and festivities occur all over the Southeast Asian country today, with large celebrations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The warm summer weather provides an ideal setting for people to enjoy their country’s cultural and natural riches – from food to flowers.

Happy National Day, Vietnam!

[9A]

1 February 2018

Celebrating Carter G. Woodson





Today’s Doodle by Virginia-based illustrator Shannon Wright and developed in collaboration with the Black Googlers Network [one of the largest employee resource groups at Google], marks the beginning of Black History Month by celebrating Carter G. Woodson - the man often called the “Father of Black History.” Woodson’s legacy inspired me to become an African American Studies major in college, and I am honored to kick off Google’s celebration this month by highlighting the life of this great American scholar.

Woodson was born in 1875 in New Canton, Virginia, to former slaves Anne Eliza and James Henry Woodson. His parents never had the opportunity to learn to read and write, but he had an appetite for education from the very beginning. As a young man, he helped support his family through farming and working as a miner, which meant that most of his education came via self-instruction. He eventually entered high school at the age of 20 and earned his diploma in less than two years!

Woodson went on to earn a master’s degree from the University of Chicago, after which he became the second African-American ever to receive a doctorate from Harvard University. He was also one of the first scholars to focus on the study of African-American history, writing over a dozen books on the topic over the years.

In addition to studying it himself, Woodson was committed to bringing African-American history front and center and ensuring it was taught in schools and studied by other scholars. He devised a program to encourage this study, which began in February of 1926 as a weeklong event. Woodson chose February for this celebration to commemorate the birth months of abolitionist Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln. This program eventually expanded to become what we now today as Black History Month.

Woodson’s commitment to achieve an education for himself and spread awareness and pride in Black history inspired me and continues to do so in so many ways. As a black woman from an underserved, underperforming public school in Richmond, California, many in my community didn’t expect me to achieve much beyond the four corners of my neighborhood. When I voiced my ambition to go to Harvard, I was told by teachers, guidance counselors, and even some family members that “people like me” didn’t go to schools like that. Fortunately, my parents believed in me and supported ambitions beyond their vision and experience. That support, along with the inspiration of great American leaders like Woodson, gave me the confidence to follow my dreams and achieve more than I’ve ever imagined.

This Black History Month, I encourage others to learn more about the incredible legacy, contribution, and journey of black people in the United States. I also hope they will be inspired by the example of Carter G. Woodson and challenge themselves to push beyond any perceived limitations to achieve a goal they may think is just out of reach.

-Sherice Torres, Director of Brand Marketing at Google & Black Googlers Network member