Google doodles

[9A]

17 May 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!

[9A]

14 April 2022

Celebrating Sơn Đoòng Cave




Nestled deep within the remote jungles of central Vietnam’s Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site, lies a natural phenomenon unparalleled by any other on Earth: the gargantuan Sơn Đoòng Cave. Today’s Doodle celebrates this colossal cavern, which was officially discovered on this day in 2009.

Expert geologists estimate the Sơn Đoòng [Vietnamese for “Mountain River”] Cave was formed sometime between two to five million years ago—epochs before local farmer Ho Khanh inadvertently stumbled upon its enormous entrance in 1990. The cave remained untouched until 2008, when Khanh retraced his steps to its misty opening, and until 2009 alongside Howard and Deb Limbert of the British Cave Research Association. The intrepid speleologists conducted the cave’s first official survey and concluded that it was the largest cave on the planet.

Inside Sơn Đoòng’s undisturbed inner chambers [big enough to fit an entire city block of 40-story buildings!], scientists discovered a wealth of record-breaking geological formations including the world’s largest limestone pearls and tallest stalagmite. Giant sinkholes situated further into the cave’s depths allow for sunlight and rain to nourish two pristine jungle ecosystems, which are home to flying foxes, the world’s only monkeys to live underground, and eyeless white fish. One of these thriving rainforests is so vast, it even has its own localized weather system!

In 2019, a trio of British divers proved there was still more to discover after finding an underwater tunnel connecting Sơn Đoòng to another cave—tacking on another 5.6 million cubic feet to its already titanic volume of 1.35 billion cubic feet.

Here’s to a natural wonder for everyone’s travel bucket list!

[9A]

14 April 2012

Robert Doisneau's 100th Birthday





If a picture's worth a 1,000 words, what're a few more letters?

In the case of creating a doodle with well-known images, my natural inclination is to re-stage the composition to work in the characters of the Google logo. Today's inspiring doodle subject, however, anticipated this move many years ago with the following, oft-repeated pearl of wisdom:


"The marvels of daily life are exciting; no Google doodler can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street." - Robert Doisneau


Point taken. So, in lieu of heading to Paris in the Google X time machine, the best I could do to create a doodle homage to Monsieur Doisneau's oeuvre of incroyable photography was to employ a little digital trickery with the original source material. [Photobombing, essentially.]


My first pass with this approach was taking one of his most iconic photographs, Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville and trying to sneak in the Google logo:

This proved problematic for two reasons: 1] this treasure finder of a photographer had captured too many moments to highlight just one gem 2] I couldn't bear the thought of re-cropping a masterpiece.

The solution? Mucking up several masterpieces.

Arranging a seemingly casual stack of photographs, I placed 3D models of the letters into four different magical moments that Robert Doisneau captured on film:






And, finally, I used value, shading, texture, and focus to hide them as best I could [click for a higher-res photo]:

Here's the line up of photos featured in the final doodle:

Le remorqueur du champs de Mars, 1943
Trois petits enfants blancs, 1971
Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville, 1950
Un chien à roulettes, 1977

Many thanks to Robert Doisneau's estate for giving us permission to use these wonderful images!

posted by Ryan G

[9A]

14 April 2021

Pohela Boishakh



Today’s Doodle commemorates the festival of Pohela Boishakh, which falls on the first day of the Bengali calendar. Whether at home or abroad, Bengalis worldwide warmly greet each other with, Shubho Noboborsho, the customary way to wish each other a prosperous and happy New Year.

One of the most traditional Pohela Boishakh celebrations commences after dawn underneath an ancient Banyan tree at Dhaka’s Ramna Park. Mangal Shobhajatra is a radiant carnival procession that begins at the Institute of Fine Arts at Dhaka University. The festive spirit blends young and old, as they wear colorful masks and parade with massive cutouts of animals as a way to symbolize Bengali cultural diversity, heritage, and identity of the people.

The nation celebrates with street parades, fairs, and grand concerts as a way to unify the Bengalis to welcome another year to come.

Shubho Nobobarsho!

[9A]

14 April 2015

Bangladesh New Year 2015

[9A]

12 December 2021

Celebrating Phở



Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Hanoi, Vietnam-based guest artist Lucia Pham, honors phở, Vietnam’s national dish that is served as an aromatic soup brimming with savory broth, soft rice noodles, fresh herbs, and thinly sliced meat. On this day in 2018, December 12 was selected as the official day to celebrate Vietnamese phở, in honor of the beloved culinary treasure and the cultural fusion it represents.

What makes phở distinct is a mindful cooking process to achieve multi-layered flavors and a clear broth. From ingredients like roasted ginger, fennel seed, star anise, and cinnamon for the simmered stock, the broth serves as the foundation for aromas and tastes for every palate.

While its exact origins are unknown, most historians think phở was born in northern Vietnam’s Nam Dinh province between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some believe that “phở" comes from the word phấn, a rice noodle dish. People started to use beef consommé to make an early predecessor to phở—a simple but very popular noodle soup called xao trau which consisted of buffalo meat cooked in broth and rice vermicelli.

Traditionally, phở is a breakfast dish sold in street food stalls but phở consumption has moved into everyday comfort food. Today, phở is eaten worldwide in countless variations such as phở trộn [dry phở], phở gà [chicken phở], phở cuốn [phở rolls] and many more. Everyone can agree that the noodle dish is a treasured element of Vietnamese heritage. Although current events have slowed the food markets, people are hopeful for their return where phở can be enjoyed as a shared, culinary moment in daily life again.

Here’s to a Vietnamese dish that’s phở-nomenal!

[9A]

14 April 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]

14 April 2014

Averroes' 888th Birthday [born 1126]





Ibn Rushd, often Latinized as Averroes, was a Muslim Andalusian polymath and jurist who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psychology, mathematics, Islamic jurisprudence and law, and linguistics. The author of more than 100 books and treatises, his philosophical works include numerous commentaries on Aristotle, for which he was known in the western world as The Commentator and Father of Rationalism. Ibn Rushd also served as a chief judge and a court physician for the Almohad Caliphate.

[9A]

14 April 2018

Pohela Boishakh 2018




Today’s Doodle celebrates Pohela Boishakh, the day when colorful street festivals mark the start of a new year in the lunisolar calendar. The calendar was originally commissioned by the Mughal Emperor, Akbar, who introduced the calendar to facilitate tax collections in the spring—just after the harvest.

Pohela Boishakh is a time to start fresh. People often celebrate by cleaning their entire home and decorating it with Alpana, a colorful painting made from rice and flour paste. The holiday is best known for its colorful celebrations and parades, like the one that takes place in Dhaka, [the capital of Bangladesh] every year.

In Dhaka, streets are filled with people who come to take part in the Mangal Shobhajatra procession. The procession was first organized in 1989 by the Faculty of Fine Arts at Dhaka University in order to symbolize peace and unity regardless of religion, gender, class, or age. The most iconic feature of the processions are the giant, colorful, representations of animals—like the elephant in today’s Doodle!

Shubho Noboborsho! [Happy New Year!]

[9A]

14 April 2017

First Day of Bengali Calendar Pohela Boishakh





Today's doodle marks Pohela Boishakh, the first day of the Bengali Calendar. While Pohela Boishakh is a lively festival today, its origins are less fanciful. The Bengali calendar year was developed over 400 years ago by the Emperor Akbar as a way to collect taxes on a specific date every year. When the new year begins, accountants can close their books on the previous year and start fresh.

On this day in Bangladesh, the country comes alive with colorful celebrations and parades. Cities and towns gather together to sing traditional songs like "Esho, he Boishakh". They eat Bengali food such as Panta bhaat [a dish of rice soaked in water], and Illish Maas [fried hilsa fish]. The main attraction in the capital city of Dhaka is the large Mangal Shobhajatra procession. The streets fill up with a parade of huge masks and creatures, each with its own symbolism, but many meant to drive away evil spirits or inspire courage and peace. The masks are often vibrant and imaginative representations of animals native to Bangladesh, like the owl and tiger you see in today's doodle.

Shubho Noboborsho! [Happy New Year!]

[9A]

14 April 2017

56th Anniversary of Xingu Indigenous Park





Officially dedicated in 1961, Xingu Indigenous Park celebrates its 56th anniversary today. The park is located in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso and spans 6,528,530 acres of savannah and forest. Xingu’s primary goal was to protect the social diversity of Brazil’s indigenous people, and was created after a long campaign by activist brothers, Orlando and Leonardo Villas-Bôas. Some of the tribes that call Xingu home are the Kamayurá, Kaiabi, Yudjá, Aweti, Mehinako, Wauja, Yawalapiti, Ikpeng, Kalapalo, Kuikuro, Matipu, Nahukwá, Suyá, and Trumai. In all, several thousand indigenous people live within the park’s boundaries.

Today’s Doodle puts Xingu indigenous culture on full display. Hugged tightly by the all-important Xingu River, the design incorporates Xingu cultural elements like fishing baskets, cassava root, buildings, and headdress.

[9A]

19 April 2021

Vera Gedroits’ 151st birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates Russian surgeon, professor, poet, and author Dr. Vera Gedroits on her 151st birthday. Dr. Gedroits is credited as the country’s first female military surgeon and one of the world’s first female professors of surgery, who saved countless lives through her fearless service and innovations in the field of wartime medicine.

Vera Ignatievna Gedroits was born on this day in 1870 into a prominent family of Lithuanian royal descent in Kiev, then part of the Russian Empire. In her late teens, she left Russia to study medicine in Switzerland. Dr. Gedroits returned home at the turn of the 20th century, and she soon began her pioneering medical career as the surgeon at a factory hospital.

When the Russo-Japanese War broke out in 1904, Dr. Gedroits volunteered as a surgeon on a Red Cross hospital train. Under threat of enemy fire, she performed complex abdominal operations in a converted railway car with such unprecedented success that her technique was adopted as the new standard by the Russian government. Following her battlefield service, Dr. Gedroits worked as a surgeon for the Russian royal family before her return home to Kiev, where she was appointed professor of surgery at the University of Kiev in 1929.

She authored several medical papers on nutrition and surgical treatments during her time as a professor, but her talent as a writer was not limited to academics. Dr. Gedroits also published multiple collections of poems, and several nonfiction works, including the 1931 memoir simply titled “Life,” which told the story of her personal journey that led to service on the front lines in 1904.

Thank you, Vera Gedroits, for pushing the world of medicine forward, even with the odds stacked against you.

[9A]

5 Apr 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]

31 January 2013

Jackie Robinson's 94th Birthday






Jack Roosevelt Robinson was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball [MLB] in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. When the Dodgers signed Robinson, it heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.



[1950 Comic Book]

[9A]

7 Mar 2010

Alessandro Manzoni's Birthday





Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni [7 March 1785 – 22 May 1873] was an Italian poet, novelist and philosopher. He is famous for the novel The Betrothed [orig. Italian: I promessi sposi] [1827], generally ranked among the masterpieces of world literature. The novel is also a symbol of the Italian Risorgimento, both for its patriotic message and because it was a fundamental milestone in the development of the modern, unified Italian language. Manzoni also contributed to the stabilization of the modern Italian language and helped to ensure linguistic unity throughout Italy. He was an influential proponent of Liberal Catholicism in Italy. His work and thinking has often been contrasted with that of his younger contemporary Giacomo Leopardi by critics.

[9A]

7 March 2012

Alessandro Manzoni's 227th Birthday




Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni [7 March 1785 – 22 May 1873] was an Italian poet, novelist and philosopher.

[9A]

7 March 2013

Volodymyr Dakhno's 81st Birthday



Volodymyr Dakhno was a Ukrainian animator, animation film director and scriptwriter. He was a laureate of the Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine [1988], and a People's Artist of Ukraine [1996]. Dakhno was best known for the animation series Cossacks. He worked at Kievnauchfilm, which has since been renamed Ukranimafilm.

[9A]

7 March 2016

Georges Perec’s 80th Birthday






Where others might feel stifled--even bewildered--Georges Perec felt his most free. The French author and tireless literary innovator saw constraints as a means of liberation. He viewed the craft of writing as a game, a way to upend his readers’ understanding of language and its accepted forms. Perec loved puzzles, and filled his works with anagrams, palindromes, and other verbal trickery.

He belonged to a curious coterie of French writers and mathematicians called the Oulipo, a group of literary experimentalists who proposed things like the S-7 method, a technique that involved rewriting classic poetry by replacing each word with the seventh word after it in the dictionary.

Doodler Sophie Diao’s reimagining of today’s homepage honors Perec’s most challenging, and perhaps most ridiculous experiment--writing an entire novel without using the letter “e”. La Disparition is nearly 300 pages long, and there is nary a hint of our most common vowel in the entire work. That means you won’t find a “the,” a “he,” a “nearly impossible,” or a “Happy birthday, Monsieur Perec.”

[9A]

11 Mar 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]

15 Mar 2016

80th Anniversary of Kasprowy Wierch cableway launch




The great beauty of the Tatra Mountains is rivaled only by the enthusiasm with which hikers and skiers mount its slopes. The panoramic vistas visible at nearly every stage of ascent up the Kasprowy Wierch summit are studded with meadows, streams, and rich pine forests. Snaking between Poland and Slovakia, the Tatra is a highly-protected national park, unreachable by traditional means, unless one is able to hike or ski 3 hours up the trail.

That all changed 80 years ago when a cableway was built in Zakopane to carry people up to the summit of Kasprowy Wierch. In Doodler Alyssa Winans' animation, you can see the cable car sway and swing in the frosty mountain air as it makes its ascent. The cable car was one of the first of its kind, and is still used today. This technological advancement made the grandeur of the mountains accessible to many more people.

[9A]

16 Mar 2016

Caroline Herschel’s 266th Birthday





Caroline Herschel was diminutive in stature--she stood only 4’3”—but her contributions to cosmological science were monumental. The late astronomer’s parents presumed she would spend her life as a housemaid, but her considerable musical talent and formidable intellect intervened. With the help of her brother Isaac, Herschel left Germany in 1772 for Bath, England, where she took work as a soprano in the Royal Court. Her brother—also a skilled musician—started a small business making telescopes in his spare time, and the two took a deep interest in astronomy and observational cosmology.

Herschel was a keen observer of the universe. She discovered hundreds of stars, eight comets [[six of which still bear her name), and became the first female astronomer enlisted by the British monarchy. Today’s Doodle by Juliana Chen celebrates Herschel’s remarkable scientific achievements, which include the publication of Catalogue of Stars and a Gold Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society. Today would have been her 266th birthday.

[9A]

21 December 2018

Hanif Mohammad’s 84th Birthday






Today’s Doodle celebrates cricketer Hanif Mohammad, also known as “The Original Little Master.” The Pakistani batsman set numerous records in Test cricket—the sport’s highest level. He played the longest innings in history [16 hours], was the first Pakistani player to score a triple century, and held the highest individual score of 499 for three decades. He and his record-breaking athleticism are even credited with helping popularize cricket in Pakistan.

Born in Junagadh, India on this day in 1934, Mohammad grew up playing cricket in the street with his brothers. He excelled as a batsman, and after relocating to Pakistan at the age of thirteen, he was mentored by Abdul Aziz, a famous cricket player who recognized his potential. Hanif went on to play for teams representing Bahawalpur, Karachi, and Pakistan International Airlines and made his international debut against India in 1952.

Over the next 17 years, Mohammed played 55 test matches for Pakistan—11 of them as team captain—and scored a total of 3,915 runs. Considered one of the best batsmen ever to play the sport, Mohammad even surpassed the great Don Bradman’s record for the highest individual innings.

Following his retirement, Mohammed took up the position of Pakistan's batting consultant in 2002. Today, his son Shoaib and grandson Shehzar carry on the cricketer family tradition.

Happy Birthday, Hanif Mohammed!

[9A]

23 April 2000

Happy Easter 2000

[9A]

15 April 2009

Mimar Sinan's Birthday


Mimar Sinan [c. 1488–1490 – July 17, 1588] also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ["Sinan Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan"] was the chief Ottoman architect [Turkish: mimar] and civil engineer for sultans Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II, and Murad III. He was responsible for the construction of more than 300 major structures and other more modest projects, such as schools. His apprentices would later design the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul and Stari Most in Mostar.

[9A]

15 April 2015

Start of Asparagus Season 2015 [Germany]



During the German Spargelsaison or Spargelzeit ["asparagus season" or "asparagus time"], the asparagus season that traditionally finishes on 24 June, roadside stands and open-air markets sell about half of the country's white asparagus consumption.

[9A]

15 April 2012

Wilhelm Busch's 180th Birthday



Heinrich Christian Wilhelm Busch [15 April 1832 – 9 January 1908] was a German humorist, poet, illustrator, and painter. He published wildly innovative illustrated tales that remain influential to this day.

Busch drew on the tropes of folk humour as well as a profound knowledge of German literature and art to satirize contemporary life, any kind of piety, Catholicism, Philistinism, religious morality, bigotry, and moral uplift.

His mastery of drawing and verse became deeply influential for future generations of comic artists and vernacular poets. Among many notable influences, The Katzenjammer Kids was inspired by Busch's Max and Moritz. Today, the Wilhelm Busch Prize and the Wilhelm Busch Museum help maintain his legacy. The 175th anniversary of his birth in 2007 was celebrated throughout Germany. Busch remains one of the most influential poets and artists in Western Europe.

[9A]

15 April 2010

Children's Day 2010 - Multiple Countries on Various Dates

[9A]

16 Apr 2010

Italian Culture Week




Italy is considered one of the birthplaces of Western civilization and a cultural superpower. Italian culture is the culture of the Italians, a Romance ethnic group, and is incredibly diverse spanning the entirety of the Italian peninsula and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily. Italy has been the starting point of phenomena of international impact such as the Roman Republic, Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic Church, the Maritime republics, Romanesque art, Scholasticism, the Renaissance, the Age of Discovery, Mannerism, the Scientific revolution, the Baroque, Neoclassicism, the Risorgimento, Fascism, and European integration.

Italy was home to many well-known and influential civilizations, including Italic peoples such as the Etruscans, the Samnites and the Romans, while also hosting colonies from important foreign civilizations like the Phoenicians and the Greeks. Etruscan and Samnite cultures flourished in Italy before the emergence of the Roman Republic, which conquered and incorporated them. Phoenicians and Greeks established settlements in Italy beginning several centuries before the birth of Christ, and the Greek settlements in particular developed into thriving classical civilizations, for example the cities of Magna Graecia.

For many centuries Italy experienced migrations and invasions and was divided into numerous independent states until 1861 when it became a nation-state. Due to this comparatively late unification, and the historical autonomy of the regions that comprise the Italian peninsula, many traditions and customs that are now recognized as distinctly Italian can be identified by their regions of origin. Despite the political and social isolation of these regions, Italy's contributions to the cultural and historical heritage of Europe and the world remain immense.

The famous elements of Italian culture are its art, music, cinema, style, and iconic food. Italy was the birthplace of opera, and for generations the language of opera was Italian, irrespective of the nationality of the composer. Italy had a huge presence in the development of Classical music, birthing Baroque music, many forms of musical composition such as the Symphony, the Sonata and the Concerto, as well as many important composers such as Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi, Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, Vincenzo Bellini, Giuseppe Verdi, and Giacomo Puccini. Italy is known for its lively folk dances. The most worldwide recognized folk dance is the Tarantella, a dance originating in the Province of Taranto, Apulia, as well as its many variations across Italy such as the Calabrian Tarantella, the Pizzica, and the Tammurriata. Before being exported to France, the famous Ballet dance genre also originated in Italy. Popular tastes in drama in Italy have long favored comedy; the improvisational style known as the Commedia dell'arte began in Italy in the mid-16th century and is still performed today. Italian cinema is revered throughout the world. The art film has its origins in Italy. Spaghetti Westerns emerged with the release of Sergio Leone's, A Fistful of Dollars, a genre consisting of films mostly produced and directed by Italians. Both the internal and external faces of Western culture were born on the Italian peninsula, whether one looks at the history of the Christian faith, civil institutions [such as the Senate], philosophy, law, art, science, or social customs and culture.

[9A]

16 April 2008

50th anniversary of the Atomium



The Atomium is a landmark building in Brussels, Belgium, originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair [Expo '58]. It is located on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Laeken [northern part of the City of Brussels], where the exhibition took place. Nowadays, it is the city's most popular tourist attraction, and serves as a museum, an art centre and a cultural place.

Designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn and the architects André and Jean Polak, it stands 102 metres [335 ft] tall. Its nine 18-metre-diameter [59 ft] stainless steel clad spheres are connected in the shape of a unit cell that could represent an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Tubes connecting the spheres enclose stairs, escalators and an elevator [in the central, vertical tube] to allow access to the six visitable spheres, which contain exhibit halls and other public spaces. The top sphere includes a restaurant with a panoramic view of Brussels. The building was completely renovated between 2004 and 2006 by the companies Jacques Delens and BESIX.

[9A]

16 April 2009

Christiaan Huygens' Birthday




Christiaan Huygens, Lord of Zuilichem, [14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695] was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, astronomer and inventor, who is 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.

[9A]

16 April 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]

18 Apr 2011

129th Birthday of Monteiro Lobato




José Bento Renato Monteiro Lobato [April 18, 1882 – July 4, 1948] was one of Brazil's most influential writers, mostly for his children's books set in the fictional Sítio do Picapau Amarelo [Yellow Woodpecker Farm] but he had been previously a prolific writer of fiction, a translator and an art critic. He also founded one of Brazil's first publishing houses [Companhia Editora Nacional] and was a supporter of nationalism.

Lobato was born in Taubaté, São Paulo. He is best known for a set of educational but entertaining children's books, which comprise about half of his production. The other half, consisting of a number of novels and short tales for adult readers, was less popular but marked a watershed in Brazilian literature.

[9A]

30 May 2012

Peter Carl Fabergé's 166th Birthday




An artist whose ornate sensibility earned him royal regard, Peter Carl Fabergé is a jeweler worthy of a doodle! Best known for his intricate eggs, Fabergé caught the attention of the Russian court. The Tsar commissioned eggs from him every year, and each time he crafted gems that were more surprising and florid than the previous. With such a reputation, he even represented his home country in the 1900 World's Fair in Paris.

His discriminating eye did not stop at detail, he and his studio were also perfectionists. Perhaps in the spirit of finding just the right composition to celebrate Fabergé's birthday, I went through numerous positions/designs for this doodle:








And with that, we'd like to wish Peter Carl Fabergé a decadent 166th birthday!


posted by Jennifer Hom

[9A]

18 April 2017

Kaimook Chuto’s 79th birthday



Today’s Doodle honors Thailand’s first female sculptor, Kaimook Chuto, on what would be her 79th birthday. Named “The sculptor of the royal court” by Queen Sirkit, she is responsible for Chaing Mai’s famous Three Kings Monument, as well as many sculptures of Thailand’s kings and queens.

[9A]

18 April 2017

Esther Afua Ocloo’s 98th birthday




As both an entrepreneur and an advocate for microlending, “Auntie Ocloo” worked tirelessly to help others like her succeed. Esther Afua Ocloo had only six shillings to her name — less than a dollar — when she made and then sold her first jar of marmalade as a teenager in the 1930s.

Esther was determined to expand her livelihood of making marmalade and orange juice, but she needed a loan to increase production, and credit was hard to come by for women with little economic resources. It took persistence and a supply contract to secure the money to start her company, Nkulenu Industries.

After traveling to England to learn the latest techniques in food processing, Esther returned home and shared those skills with other Ghanaian women. Perhaps more importantly, she taught them everything she knew about starting and running a business, which put more money in their pockets. She made such an impact that in 1975 she was invited to the first U.N. World Conference on Women.

Esther and other advisors knew that lending money to women could have a ripple effect, improving the prosperity and health of the women as well as their communities. But because they lacked collateral, low-income women were often ignored by banks. So in 1979, Esther helped found and became Chairman of the Board of Directors of Women’s World Banking, which provides millions of low-income women with the small loans needed to reach their financial goals.

On what would have been her 98th birthday, today’s Doodle shows Esther empowering the women of Ghana with the tools to improve their lives and communities.

[9A]

18 April 2012

Jan Kaplický's 75th Birthday



Jan Kaplický was a Neofuturistic Czech architect who spent a significant part of his life in the United Kingdom. He was the leading architect behind the innovative design office, Future Systems. He was best known for the neofuturistic Selfridges Building in Birmingham, England, and the Media Centre at Lord's Cricket Ground in London.

[9A]

18 April 2014

Ivana Brlić Mažuranić's 140th Birthday [born 1874]




Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić was a Croatian writer. Within her native land, as well as internationally, she has been praised as the best Croatian writer for children.

[9A]

18 April 2012

Antero de Quental's 200th Birthday





Antero Tarquínio de Quental was a Portuguese poet, philosopher, and writer. De Quental is regarded as one of the greatest poets of his generation and is recognized as one of the most influential Portuguese language artists of all time. His name is often mentioned alongside Luís Vaz de Camões, Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage, and Fernando Pessoa.

[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]

24 September 2014

60th anniversary of the unveiling of the first Routemaster bus



‘The wheels on the bus go round and round’ sings the famous nursery rhyme and in London, they've now been going round and round for over 50 years.





Much like the actual London bus, doodle Kevin Laughlin’s design evolved over time before coming full circle. This was the initial sketch idea.

The first Routemaster buses left the depot on their maiden journeys in 1956 and with their distinctive red colour, they soon became a popular sight for Londoners and a worldwide icon.






Kevin experimented with a more illustrative style, but felt that perhaps the animation was too rigid.

Over the years, millions of commuters, schoolchildren, tourists and evening revellers have all used the humble bus to take them to work, school, see the sights and then take them home again after their busy days.






In a third version, Kevin went for an updated style of the bus. The fluidity of the animation felt more satisfying… though maybe too fluid-like?

While the London bus has evolved over the years, the reliability of the service and Londoners' love of it remain the same. Those wheels will carry on going round and round for many years to come.

Kevin’s final doodle. A simple, whimsical approach just right for the occasion!

[9A]

20 Apr 2012

Eduard Slavoljub Penkala's 141st Birthday




Eduard Penkala was born in Liptószentmiklós [now Liptovský Mikuláš], then part of Austria-Hungary, to Franciszek Pękała, who was of Polish heritage, and Maria Pękała [née Hannel], who was of Dutch descent. He attended the University of Vienna and Royal Saxon Polytechnic Institute, graduating from the latter on March 25, 1898, and going on to earn a doctorate in organic chemistry. During his studies, he attended violin lessons where he met his future wife, pianist Emily Stoffregen. He then moved with his wife to Zagreb [which was then in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia]. To mark his loyalty to his new homeland, he took on the Croatian name Slavoljub [Croatian for "slavophile"], becoming a naturalized Croat.

He became renowned for further development of the mechanical pencil [1906] - then called an "automatic pencil" - and the first solid-ink fountain pen [1907]. Collaborating with an entrepreneur by the name of Edmund Moster, he started the Penkala-Moster Company and built a pen-and-pencil factory that was one of the biggest in the world at the time. The company, now called TOZ Penkala, still exists today.

He also constructed the first Croatian aircraft to fly in the country, the Penkala 1910 Biplane, flown by Dragutin Novak, who was also the first Croatian pilot. He constructed and invented many other products and devices, and held a total of 80 patents.
Among his patented inventions were:

• a hot water bottle - his first patented invention, the "Termofor"
• a type of bluing detergent
• a rail-car brake
• an anode battery

He also founded another company called the Elevator Chemical Manufacturing Company, which produced various chemicals such as detergents, sealing wax, and "Radium Vinovica", a patent-medicine – like product that was billed as curing rheumatism.

[9A]

7 March 2021

Celebrating Masako Katsura





Today’s Doodle celebrates ambidextrous Japanese sharpshooter Masako “The First Lady of Billiards” Katsura, who made history as the first woman to compete for an international billiards title on this day in 1952.

Born in Tokyo in 1913, Katsura picked up billiards at age 12 from her brother-in-law, a game room owner, and by 15 she was the Japanese women’s champion in straight rail—a challenging variation of carom billiards in which the cue ball must hit two balls in a row to score points. After 19, she only competed in men’s tournaments; racking up 10,000 points at one exhibition in a mind-boggling four and a half hour run.

By the time Katsura moved to the United States in 1937, word of her unprecedented talent had reached eight-time world champion Welker Cochran. He came out of retirement to challenge her in a series of three-cushion matches, an even tougher version of carom billiards, depicted in the Doodle artwork, that calls for the cue ball to hit at least three cushions before striking the two object balls for points. Katsura so impressed Welker, he organized the World Championship Billiards tournament in 1952 to watch her compete against world’s foremost billiards aficionados. Katsura upset some of the sport’s best players to finish seventh in the tournament, while the progress she made for women in a traditionally male-dominated game was a first.

To celebrate her historic achievements, Katsura was inducted into the Women’s Professional Billiard Association Hall of Fame in 1976 as one of the sport’s all-time greatest players.

So here’s to you, First Lady of Billiards! Thanks for cueing up this sport for generations of women to come.

[9A]

12 Mar 2011

Chinese Arbor Day 2011







Chinese arbor day March 12 marks the China's Arbor Day [or the Tree Planting Day], which is a day to encourage people to plant trees.

[9A]

12 March 2013

André Le Nôtre's 400th Birthday





André Le Nôtre, originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed the gardens of the Palace of Versailles; his work represents the height of the French formal garden style, or jardin à la française.

[9A]

14 Apr 2013

Alfredo Volpi's 117th Birthday






Alfredo Volpi [April 14, 1896 – May 28, 1988], was a prominent painter of the artistic and cultural Brazilian modernist movement. He was born in Lucca, Italy but, less than two years later, he was brought by his parents to São Paulo, Brazil, became a Brazilian citizen, and lived for the majority of his life. He was one of the most important artists of the so-called Grupo Santa Helena, formed in the 1930s with Francisco Rebolo, Clóvis Graciano, Mario Zanini, Fulvio Pennacchi, and others.

[9A]

14 April 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]

14 April 2021

Celebrating Johannes Gutenberg



When it comes to first impressions, no other historical figure made one quite like the inventor of the mechanical movable type printing press: German craftsman Johannes Gutenberg. This revolutionary technology made the knowledge found in books both affordable and accessible to the common person for the first time in history. Today’s Doodle celebrates Gutenberg on the anniversary of this day in 2000 when the Gutenberg Museum launched a retrospective exhibition in his honor.

Although much of Gutenberg’s life is shrouded in mystery, historical records indicate he was born circa 1400 in Mainz, Germany, and first made his living as a metalworker in the goldsmith trade. By the late 1430s, historians believe Gutenberg began to develop a more efficient text printing device in an attempt to pay off debts from a failed mirror business. The machine he invented [essentially a retrofitted winepress] replaced the hand-carved wooden letter and graphic blocks of traditional printers for easily-cast metal type, which were then dipped in proprietary ink to print entire pages at once.

Gutenberg’s next eureka moment came in 1450 with his invention’s first successful print: a Latin book on speech-making. From here, Gutenberg was off to the races as he innovated labor by hiring an assembly-line team to produce books quicker than ever! A testament to the power of human creativity, the Gutenberg press printed up to 3,600 pages on an average workday, fueling the first large-scale production of books in Europe.

By the 16th century, an estimated 200 million books were in print thanks to his invention, which gave birth to a new era of mass communication and a new branch of media: the press. Today, Gutenberg’s legacy lives on with Project Gutenberg, an online library with over 60,000 free books.

Thank you, Johannes Gutenberg!

[9A]

19 April 2010

Feria de Abril





The Seville Fair [officially and in Spanish: Feria de Abril de Sevilla, "Seville April Fair"] is held in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain. The fair generally begins two weeks after the Semana Santa, or Easter Holy Week.

The fair officially begins at midnight on Saturday, and runs seven days, ending on the following Saturday. Each day the fiesta begins with the parade of carriages and riders, at midday, carrying Seville's leading citizens which make their way to the bullring, La Real Maestranza, where the bullfighters and breeders meet.

For the duration of the fair, the fairgrounds and a vast area on the far bank of the Guadalquivir River are totally covered in rows of casetas [individual decorated marquee tents which are temporarily built on the fairground]. These casetas usually belong to prominent families of Seville, groups of friends, clubs, trade associations and political parties. From around nine at night until six or seven the following morning, at first in the streets and later only within each caseta, there are crowds partying and dancing sevillanas, drinking Sherry, manzanilla or rebujito, and eating tapas. This fair also has an amusement park that comes with it and has many games to play along with roller coasters to ride.

[9A]

19 April 2019

Duygu Asena’s 73rd Birthday





“We’ve come a long way, but there’s still a long way to go,” said Duygu Asena, the Turkish feminist writer, editor, publisher, and TV host whose life and work are celebrated in today’s Doodle by Istanbul-based guest artist Benoît Hamet.

Born in Istanbul on this day in 1946, Asena grew up in a middle-class family, and her grandfather was the personal secretary to Ataturk, the founder of The Republic of Turkey. Initially trained to become a teacher, she went on to become a journalist who advocated for women’s rights in her native land through the power of the written word.

During the 1970s, Asena wrote for the newspapers Hürriyet and Cumhuriyet. She also founded Kadınca, Turkey’s first women’s magazine in 1978. Her voice was considered an inspiration to Turkish women at a time when local social norms limited women’s autonomy over their own lives drastically.

Asena shocked Turkey with her 1987 novel, The Woman has No Name, which became an instant bestseller and was adapted into a successful film a year later.

In later years Asena also worked as an actress and as host of the program Ondan Sonra [After That] on the state-run network TRT-2. Since 2006, the writers’ association, PEN International, has awarded the Duygu Asena Award to promote women fighting for freedom of expression.

[9A]

22 Apr 2019

Earth Day 2019



Happy Earth Day 2019!


This year's annual Earth Day Doodle takes us around the planet we call home to discover some of the awe-inspiring organisms which inhabit it. Specifically, the interactive slideshow Doodle explores six organisms across elevations—along with their earthly superlative!

Today’s Doodle was created by Doodler Kevin Laughlin.