Google doodles

[9A]

Oct 12, 2021

Eugenio Montale's 125th Birthday






Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Aosta, Italy-based guest artist Andrea Serio, celebrates the 125th birthday of Italian poet, critic, and translator Eugenio Montale. Renowned for his masterful ability to capture human emotion, he is widely considered one of the greatest poets of contemporary history.

Born on this day in 1896 in the Italian port city of Genoa, Eugenio Montale first pursued a career as a baritone opera singer before finding his true voice as a poet. In a poem from “Ossi di Seppia”[“Cuttlefish Bones,” 1925], his first published collection, Montale used the rocky Italian coast as a symbol to provide both his readers and himself an escape from the anxiety of postwar Italy. This critically acclaimed collection differed from the extravagant language in poems of the time, and represented a turn in the tide for 20th-century literary symbolists.

Although he rejected the label, Montale is considered among the founders of the modernist poetic movement of Hermeticism—a “hermetic” [hidden or sealed] literary style often achieved through purposefully hard-to-interpret analogies and emotional vocabulary. Montale garnered worldwide fame for five volumes of symbolist poetry published during his 50-year writing career. In addition, he worked as an internationally renowned essayist, music and literary critic, and translator of English classics ranging from Shakespeare to Mark Twain.

In 1975, Montale’s uncompromising verse was recognized at the highest level when he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Often alluded to in the work of modern poets—Montale’s famously difficult poetry continues to have a profound effect on the literary world today.

Happy birthday, Eugenio Montale!

[9A]

Oct 8, 2021

Ivan Piddubny's 150th Birthday


Few professional wrestlers enjoy a career lasting over 40 years, and many fewer retire undefeated from every tournament in which they’ve competed. Today’s Doodle celebrates a world champion Ukrainian wrestler who accomplished both—Ivan Piddubny.

Ivan Piddubny was born on this day in 1871 in the small village of Krasenivka in what is now central Ukraine. The young Piddubny developed his grit and brute strength by throwing haystacks into carts and plowing the land on his family farm. After leaving home at 17 in search of a better life, Piddubny found work in the ports of the Crimean town of Feodosia. While spectating a Greco-Roman wrestling match hosted by a touring circus that visited the port town, he decided to put his strength to the test.

Piddubny requested to join a match and to everyone’s amazement, he defeated every opponent—including a handful of famous world-class contenders. Piddubny joined the circus as an indomitable wrestler in 1897, marking the start of a whirlwind career entertaining audiences around the globe. By 1906, he was the first wrestler to win two world championships. The winning streak continued with six world titles that earned him prestigious names such as “The Champion of Champions.” He astounded onlookers and fellow athletes alike with both his Herculean strength and unheard of longevity—even winning the 1926 American championship at 55!

Although he retired in 1941 at the age of 70, his powerful legacy endures as many Ukrainians are known to still say “like Piddubny” to describe someone's strength.

Happy birthday, Ivan Piddubny. Here’s to an athlete who turned the world of wrestling upside-down!

[9A]

October 8, 2010

César Milstein's 73rd Birthday




César Milstein was an Argentine biochemist in the field of antibody research. Milstein shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1984 with Niels Kaj Jerne and Georges J. F. Köhler for developing the hybridoma technique for the production of monoclonal antibodies.

The major part of Milstein's research career was devoted to studying the structure of antibodies and the mechanism by which antibody diversity is generated. It was as part of this quest that, in 1975, he worked with Georges Köhler [a postdoctoral fellow in his laboratory] to develop the hybridoma technique for the production of monoclonal antibodies—a discovery recognized by the award of the 1984 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. This discovery led to an enormous expansion in the exploitation of antibodies in science and medicine.

[9A]

Sep 30, 2010

Flintstones' 50th Anniversary




As a young kid, I drew a lot of dinosaurs. My dad would bring home reams of dot matrix printer paper from work, which I'd take, fold into stapled booklets, and then fill with dinosaurs doing what dinosaurs did best — eating, leaping about, facing off in epic combat on top of spewing volcanoes. What I didn't know was that dinosaurs were also quite handy. A brontosaurus tail made an excellent water slide, you could walk up a row of plates on a stegosaurus' back like a flight of stairs, and the triceratops' horns were actually cutting-edge can openers. For these paleontological insights into Stone Aged innovation, I have the Flintstones to thank.

The Flintstones may have lived in the prehistoric town of Bedrock, but their technology was on par with much of what we use today. Everyone drove human-powered vehicles [[zero emissions!), composted scraps in a dinosaur under the kitchen sink, and even wore solar powered watches—that is, if you count sundials. In short, Bedrock was the modern city of the past... and I wanted to live in it! Unfortunately, that didn’t quite pan out, but to be able to pay tribute to one of my favorite childhood TV shows in the form of a Google doodle is easily the next best thing.

On the 50th anniversary of its first airing, we gladly salute “The Flintstones” for inspiring our imaginations and encouraging us to think outside of the box, even if it means taking a look back now and then. I hope you’ll join the rest of us here at Google in a little nostalgia to mark this fun occasion!

Oh, and if you know any saber-toothed tigers looking for an internship as a hole puncher, give me a buzz.

posted by Mike Dutton

[9A]

September 30, 2020

Celebrating the Dachshund Bobblehead






Today’s Doodle celebrates the dachshund bobblehead, an iconic weiner dog doll with a wobbly, spring-attached head that originated in Germany as a friendly vehicle accessory. The first verifiable reference to the breed traces back to this date in 1723, with its inclusion in Johann Friedrich von Flemming’s book “Der vollkommene teutsche Jäger” [“The Complete German Hunter”].

The dachshund has long been recognized as a popular German symbol. That special status was only strengthened in the 1970s with the manufacture of the first daschund bobbleheads, known affectionately in German as the “Wackeldackel”–or “wobbling dachshund” in English. The agreeable canines could soon be found perched on the rear dash of traditional German notchback cars, nodding along to every twist and bump in the road.

After the Wackeldackel was featured in a late-’90s German advertisement, the bobblehead came howling back to prominence with over 500,000 sold in just eight months.

Keep an eye out for these four-legged passengers on the road! You never know when you might spot a hot dog in the back of a hot rod.

[9A]

September 30, 2012

Chuseok 2012



Chuseok is a major mid-autumn harvest festival and a three-day holiday in South Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar on the full moon. In North Korea, they only celebrate for the day of chuseok. Like many other harvest festivals around the world, it is held around the autumn equinox, i.e. at the very end of summer or in early autumn. It is the biggest traditional holiday in South Korea.

As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food. A major custom is to prepare the family's ancestors their favorite meals as an offering.

[9A]

September 30, 2008

Children's Day 2008 - Multiple Countries on Various Days

[9A]

Sep 29, 2008

Miguel de Cervantes' Birthday



Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best known for his novel Don Quixote, a work often cited as both the first modern novel and one of the pinnacles of world literature.

[9A]

September 29, 2015

Evidence of water found on Mars





Today’s news stirred us like a long, cool drink in the blistering heat. Science has gestured at the presence of water on Mars before, but evidence of liquid water--briny, creeping flows that appear in a crater during Martian summers--has tremendous implications in the search for life beyond our planet. We felt compelled to honor such an exciting discovery with a Doodle, and staring at satellite images of Mars for inspiration made Doodler Nate Swinehart really, really thirsty.

[9A]

August 2, 2018

Celebrating Mount Olympus




According to ancient Greek mythology, Mount Olympus is the home of the gods. Should mere mortals dare to climb so high? On this day In 1913, three courageous climbers answered “yes,” scaling this 9,573-foot summit sculpted with deep ravines and abrupt upgrades. Swiss photographer Frédéric Boissonnas, his friend Daniel Baud-Bovy, and Christos Kakkalos, a Greek hunter who served as their guide, set off in treacherous weather.

Kakkalos knew the mountain so well that he scaled its sharp inclines barefoot. The Swiss had some experience in mountaineering, but Boissonnas had to lug heavy photographic equipment up the mountain. He and his friend, Baud-Bovy, were tied together with a rope, standard procedure for such expeditions.

During their climb, the summit where Greek gods were said to reside was wreathed with storm clouds, and the climbers mistook a lesser peak for the home of the gods. Thinking their ascent was done, the elated adventurers wrote cards describing their feat and put the notes in a bottle that they buried on a crest they christened Victory Top. When the mist cleared, they spied another, more impressive peak, called Mytikas.

With Kakkalos in the lead, the men continued upward, scrambling across the slippery gorge. Boissonnas later wrote that he was compelled by the fire of Prometheus, who stole fire from Athena and Hephaestus’ workshop on Mount Olympus, gifting it to humans to help them in their labors.

Today’s Doodle celebrates their accomplishment and the fire that inspired them.

[9A]

January 26, 2018

India's Republic Day 2018




On this day in 1950, India solidified its sovereignty by putting into effect the Constitution of India, a governing document that took nearly three years of careful deliberation to finalize, and whose eventual enactment was joyfully celebrated across the country.

The first Republic Day was commemorated with a grand parade at the Rajpath, a tradition that continues to the present day. An important element of this parade is the celebration of India’s rich cultural history, which serves as the inspiration for today’s Doodle by New Delhi-based illustrator Ibrahim Rayintakath.

The geometrical shapes that form the Doodle's background are inspired by the vibrant colors and patterns of traditional hand-loom draperies from different states. The foreground elements symbolize unique crafts, music and traditional practices from across the country. You can see a man blowing the Sringa, an ancient musical instrument; Kathputli, a form of traditional puppetry used to narrate folk tales; and the spinning wheel, an important symbol of India’s history. Ceremonial dances form an important part of rituals during the many festivals celebrated across India, and today’s Doodle depicts the Bihu dance from Assam. You can also spot the majestic elephant, a key figure in such festive ceremonies in most regions. Finally, the overall outline and motifs are a tribute to Mughal architecture.

All these elements of local culture in bright, warm colors and distinctive patterns are reminiscent of India’s rich cultural heritage, and come together to celebrate a happy 69th Republic Day!

[9A]

Aug 1, 2018

Switzerland National Day 2018







Get out the cowbells! Today is Swiss National Day. Throughout Switzerland’s 26 cantons, the Swiss flag is displayed on everything from window boxes to loaves of bread. Children light paper lanterns and ring bells in commemoration of the oath of Swiss Confederation that was sworn in 1291. Bonfires in the hills remind one and all how word was spread of that ancient pledge of mutual support. The day is also filled with solemn speeches, fireworks, concerts, and parades of flower-bedecked cows, as shown in today’s Doodle.

In Basel, the celebrations begin in earnest the night of July 31 with food stands, music, and revelry on both sides of the Rhine until the early hours of the morning. Spectacular fireworks also light up the sky near the Rhine Falls.

For many Swiss, preparations for the holiday begin at least a week earlier, with citizens collecting wood for enormous bonfires. Friendly competitions urge neighbors to outbuild each others’ woodpiles. As it grows dark, the sounds of a traditional accordion or Schwiizerörgeli can be heard. And when the bonfire flames get just right, Swiss sausages known as Cervelats will go on the flames, growing plump and succulent till just right to eat.

Happy Swiss National Day!

[9A]

August 1, 2016

Switzerland National Day 2016



Swiss National Day is celebrated today because it was around this time in the year 1291 that three Alpine states joined to create what would eventually become modern-day Switzerland. Celebrated informally since 1891, Swiss National Day became an official holiday in 1994.

The Google homepage honors this day with a Doodle depicting a cowbell flanked by Alpine flowers. The cowbell was chosen because of its stature as an enduring symbol of the meadows and mountains of Switzerland. The Alpine flowers depicted in the illustration are Enzian and Edelweiss, found in the same region where cows roam, and on the Swiss five franc coin.

As for the celebration, communities and cities in Switzerland will mark the day in many different ways, from brunches with buurezmorgä to bonfires.

Happy Swiss National Day!

[9A]

Jul 31, 2016

Munshi Premchand’s 136th Birthday





Today’s homepage celebrates a man who forever changed India’s literary landscape. Born Dhanpat Rai in a small village in northern India, the prolific author is best known under his pen name, Premchand. He’s also been called Upanyas Samrat, or “emperor among novelists,” having produced more than a dozen novels, 250 short stories, and a number of essays throughout his lifetime.

Writing wasn’t always his main focus, though. Premchand was a teacher for many years until he joined the non-cooperation movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in the 1920s. Gandhi influenced much of Premchand’s later work, which brought to light some of India’s most prominent social issues of the time.

His last and most famous novel, Godaan [1936], inspired today’s Doodle, which depicts Premchand bringing his signature working-class characters to life. On what would have been his 136th birthday, this illustration pays tribute to the many important stories he told.

[9A]

July 31, 2021

Sariamin Ismail's 112th Birthday




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Indonesian guest artist Ayang Cempaka, celebrates the 112th birthday of Indonesian author Sariamin Ismail, who is widely regarded as the first woman in the nation to publish a novel.

On this day in 1909, Sariamin Ismail was born in Talu, West Sumatra, Dutch East Indies [[today’s Indonesia). She began to explore the world of poetry at the age of 10, and by 16, her writings were published in several local newspapers. Ismail became a teacher after graduating high school and worked in various cities across the Indonesian archipelago while continuing to write over the following decades. Ismail was an active writer during a time when Indonesian women’s voices were censored and used many pseudonyms to avoid persecution from local authorities.

Based on real-life experiences of romances gone awry, Ismail’s first novel—”Kalau Tak Untung” [If You Are Unlucky]—was released under the pseudonym Selaish in 1933, and made history as the first novel authored by a woman in Indonesian history. This daring book exemplified a rejection of widely held Indonesian traditions such as arranged marriages, a controversial idea which characterized her work throughout her career.

In 1937, Ismail began publishing stories in “Soeara Kaoem Iboe Soematra,” a local women’s magazine that promoted the values of the nuclear family in contrast with relationship conventions of the time. She taught into the late 60s and wrote into the mid 90s and left behind numerous anthologies of poetry, novels, and even two children’s stories.

Happy birthday, Sariamin Ismail! Thank you for inspiring a new generation of women to use their voices.

[9A]

July 31, 2020

Celebrating Pacita Abad





Today’s Doodle celebrates Philippine artist, feminist, and activist Pacita Abad, renowned for her bold use of color and mixed media as well as her use of art to address global themes. On this day in 1984, Abad made history as the first woman to receive the Philippines’ prestigious Ten Outstanding Young Men award.

Pacita Abad was born on October 5th, 1946 in Basco, in the northern province of Batanes, the Philippines. She pursued graduate studies in San Francisco, California in the U.S. in 1970 and became very involved in the city’s artistic community. Abad went on to study painting and then traveled the world with her art supplies, from Bangladesh to Sudan, and the cultures she encountered had a profound influence on her ever-evolving artistic style. Dedicated to improving the world through art, she used pieces like her 1979 series “Portraits of Cambodia” to raise awareness of societal issues.

Over time, Abad transitioned toward abstract work and pioneered a painting technique called trapunto [Italian for quilting]. To achieve this style, she stuffed her canvases to create a sculptural effect and integrated culturally significant materials discovered during her travels, like shells and fabrics. Abad channeled a passion for public art into her 2003 project “Painted Bridge,” for which she covered Singapore’s 55-meter Alkaff Bridge with an explosion of 2,350 vibrantly colored circles.

Abad crafted over 5,000 pieces of art, and today her colorful legacy resonates in collections in over 70 countries.

Thank you, Pacita Abad, for painting the picture of a brighter tomorrow!

[9A]

Jul 30, 2020

Turhan Selçuk’s 98th Birthday

Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Istanbul-based guest artist M.K. Perker, commemorates the 98th birthday of iconic Turkish cartoonist, artist, and satirist Turhan Selçuk, a celebrated pioneer of the contemporary Turkish comic strip. Wielding a minimalist style of line art infused with acute wit, Selçuk masterminded one of the country’s first and most famous original comic book characters, Abdülcanbaz, who is depicted riding a bike in today’s Doodle artwork.

Turhan Selçuk was born on this day in 1922 in the ancient Turkish city of Milas. While still a high school student in 1941, he published some of his first illustrations in the newspaper Türk Sözü [The Turkish Word] and saw continued success with his work throughout the decade.

As the chief illustrator for the Yeni Istanbul [New Istanbul], he honed his artistic style and championed the belief that cartoons were a universal medium of storytelling. In 1954, he took the same position at Milliyet, an Istanbul-based daily national newspaper that three years later became the home for Selçuk’s definitive, postmodern comic series “The Adventures of Abdülcanbaz.” Across a nearly three-decade run, the angular hero Abdülcanbaz, also known as the “Istanbul Gentleman,” traveled around the world and even through time to fight injustice and help the powerless.

In 1969, Selçuk co-founded the Turkish Cartoonists Association to educate young cartoonists and promote the medium around the world. He received numerous awards throughout his almost seventy-year career and was the first Turkish cartoonist to be awarded internationally.

[9A]

July 30, 2014

Salvador Novo's 110th Birthday



A portrait of Mexican writer and poet Salvador Novo appears in our doodle in Mexico today. As the official chronicler for his hometown of Mexico City, Novo played a large rule in influencing perceptions of the city and Mexican society in genera

[9A]

July 31, 2022

Celebrating Pétanque







Interactive version: https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-petanque


Today’s interactive Doodle game celebrates Pétanque, a beloved French outdoor game played around the world. Just click the Doodle to play a random match or challenge your friends!

Long before Pétanque became France’s go-to afternoon activity, Ancient Greeks played games tossing flat stones and eventually stone balls. After modifying the game by adding a target ball, Ancient Roman soldiers and sailors brought the game to France.

The modern game of Pétanque originated in 1907 in Provence, France when a local cafe owner adjusted the rules to accommodate a player whose rheumatism prevented him from running. With a reduced length of the field and a stationary toss, Pétanque spread quickly across the country.

The rules of the game are fairly simple: throw, toss, or roll your team’s metal boules closer to the target boule than the other team. Over a series of rounds, the first player or team to score thirteen points wins! The goal might sound simple, but players can use a number of tactics to gain an advantage over their opponent. “Shooting” is a popular strategy, often used at competitive levels, where players attempt to knock away an opponent's boule from the target.

Nowadays, Pétanque is more than just a leisure activity with friends—the game is played competitively at regional, national and international levels throughout the world. The best players attend showcase events like the Mondial La Marseillaise in France and the La British Open in England.

Click today’s Doodle and get the boules rolling!

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Early Drafts





Alt text: A personified purple olive [left side of frame] stands with hands on hips smiling at their opponent—a personified green olive [right side of frame] standing with its eyes playfully closed, smile on face, one hand on hip and the other holding a boule. The words “Pétanque Doodle” are in the background across a blue sky with two olive branches peeking down from the top corners.







Alt text: A large gathering of personified purple and green olives are playing Pétanque on a beach with the sea visible in the background. Larger-than-life colorful fruits and vegetables surround the players as they throw white boules towards the red target boule.


Alt text: 16 illustrations of individual personified black and white, purple and green olives. Each olive wears a different expression and some hold Pétanque boules. The words “Les Olives” caption the drawings.

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�� Pétanque Doodle Team ��

Art | Helene Leroux

UX Design | Anthony Irwin

Producer | Brenna Fallon, Colin Duffy [emeritus]

Engineering Lead | Jacob Howcroft

Engineering | Daniel Dovali, Katherine Lee, Brian Murray

Engineering Support | Daniel Hirsch, Gu J

Marketing | Alice Roy de Puyfontaine, Chloe Broughton, Perla Campos

Doodle Team Leads | Jessica Yu, Nate Swinehart, Tom Tabanao

Original Music | Mathieu Alvado

Sound Design | Samy Cheboub

Music and sound produced by | Gigawatts Productions

[9A]

July 28, 2008

Beatrix Potter's Birthday




Helen Beatrix Potter [ 28 July 1866 – 22 December 1943] was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

[9A]

September 16, 2019

Chrisye’s 70th Birthday




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Yogyakarta-based guest artist Antares Hasanbasri, celebrates the progressive Indonesian pop singer and songwriter, Chrisye. Born Chrismansyah Rahadi in Jakarta on this day in 1949, Chrisye won many awards in his 40-year career and is widely considered one of the greatest Indonesian musicians of all time.

Chrisye’s parents had hoped he’d become an engineer. To their surprise, he fell in love with music early, starting a band with his brother Joris and later playing bass with his neighbors, eventually forming a band named Gipsy. Chrisye’s early recordings with Gipsy, as well as a number of other solo albums, solidified his place as one of Indonesia’s most popular recording artists.

Gipsy’s breakthrough occurred when they collaborated with Guruh Sukarnoputra in 1976 through the album Guruh Gipsy, blending contemporary rock and traditional music of Java and Bali, in a style called called gamelan.

A 1977 film soundtrack, Badai Pasti Berlalu [The Storm Will Surely Pass], birthed two of his most critically acclaimed works, including "Lilin-Lilin Kecil" [“Little Candles”] written by James F. Sundah. His smooth vocals on the song, emanating hope from an older generation, made the uplifting memorial song a favorite—and was also what inspired the art in today’s Doodle. The success of the soundtrack album led to a solo career with Chrisye’s first solo project, Sabda Alam, in 1978.

Chrisye appeared in the 1980 film Seindah Rembulan [As Beautiful As the Moon] and eventually married Yanti, former singer born G.F. Damayanti Noor, raising four children. He won numerous accolades, including Anugerah Musik Indonesia awards for Best Male Pop Singer and Best Album.

“Semangat bermusik saya tidak akan pernah mati,” Chrisye once wrote. “My musical spirit will never die.”

[9A]

September 16, 2020

Mexico Independence Day 2020




Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Xalapa, Mexico-based guest artist Ina Hristova, celebrates Mexico’s Independence Day. On this day in 1810, Mexico’s decade-long struggle for independence from Spanish rule began, and the country’s sovereignty was officially recognized by Spain on August 24, 1821.

Depicted in today’s Doodle is a colorful and eclectic collection of images that represent traditional Independence Day festivities. These illustrations pay homage to an iconic Mexican folk embroidery style developed in the 1960s by the Indigenous Otomí people of Tenango de Doria in central Mexico. The shape of the Doodle artwork is inspired by the central Mexican folk sculptures called “Árboles de la Vida” [“Trees of Life”].

iFeliz Día de la Independencia, México!

[9A]

September 16, 2015

Mexico National Day 2015




On September 16th, 1810, at the heels of revolutionary leader Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexico declared herself a free state and began its eleven-year struggle for independence. To celebrate the centennial of this moment in Mexican history, a team of artists and engineers erected the gold victory column that juts into the sky above Mexico City and finds itself at the center of today’s Doodle. The statue--a rendering of Nike, the Winged Goddess of Victory--holds a severed chain in her left hand and sits atop a mausoleum in which the remains of Mexico’s most cherished revolutionary figures are entombed.

Today, guest artist Ana Ramirez celebrates El Ángel with a burst of color befitting the fervor and exuberance of Miguel Hidalgo’s centuries-old Grito de Dolores. ¡Viva México!

[9A]

September 6, 2021

Carmen Laforet’s 100th Birthday





Today’s Doodle celebrates the centennial birthday of Spanish writer Carmen Laforet, best known for her no-frills, realist prose. Carmen Laforet Díaz was born on this day in 1921 in Barcelona, Spain. Her 1945 novel Nada [Nothing] is still widely considered one of Spain’s most significant contemporary novels.

She spent her early years in the Canary Islands—a safe haven from the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War [1936–1939]. At 18, she returned with her family to Barcelona to study philosophy before moving to Madrid where she found a city scrambling to recover from domestic unrest.

It was in this tumultuous climate that Laforet wrote the manuscript for Nada--the story of an 18-year-old orphan’s struggle in post-war Barcelona. The story's candid existentialist narration portrayed the era’s harsh realities from a fresh perspective with a simple writing style, contrasting the convoluted prose that characterized many Spanish works at the time. Laforet’s innovative novel won her the first Nadal Prize, an award for unpublished authors that is today regarded as one of Spanish literature’s most prestigious honors. In addition to celebrating Laforet’s work, the prize included the publication of Nada, which immediately became a national sensation.

Laforet’s frank, realist prose reinvigorated the literary arts of a war-torn country while inspiring a new generation of women novelists. Along with several collections of short stories, a novella and travel books, Laforet published three additional novels into the late 1960s. Nada has never gone out of print, retaining its place in the nation's literary life.

Happy Birthday, Carmen Laforet!

[9A]

September 6, 2011

Shinichi Hoshi's 85th Birthday




Shinichi Hoshi was a Japanese novelist and science fiction writer best known for his "short-short" science fiction stories, often no more than three or four pages in length, of which he wrote over 1000. He also wrote mysteries and won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Mōsō Ginkō [Delusion Bank] in 1968.

[9A]

June 29, 2018

Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis’ 125th Birthday




In the 1920s and ’30s, most if not all statistics work in India was done by one man: Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis—an innovator in his field who was known as a “human calculator.”

While studying physics at Cambridge University in England at age 22, Mahalanobis was introduced to statistics by one of his professors. Upon returning home to India he became fascinated with this branch of mathematics, applying statistical methods to anthropology, meteorology, and biology.

Mahalanobis’ early work used random samplings to predict floods and foretell agricultural crop yields. He later applied these same techniques to comparisons of large data sets, devising what came to be called “the Mahalanobis Distance.” His pioneering work impacted economic planning as several major Indian industries ran on the Mahalanobis Growth Model, his statistical forecast of the country’s economy.

Mahalanobis, who would have turned 125 today, founded the Indian Statistical Institute in Calcutta in 1931, housed at Presidency College, and became the honorary statistical advisor to the Indian government in 1949. In 1951, the Institute became its own full-fledged university. Small wonder that the Indian government named June 29 National Statistics Day in 2006.

Happy birthday Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis!

Doodle ilustrated by Nishant Choksi.

[9A]

March 29, 2019

Novera Ahmed's 80th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates the pioneering artist Novera Ahmed, who is considered the first modern sculptor in Bangladesh and whose distinctive work borrowed from Western, folk, indigenous, and Buddhist themes to reflect the experiences of women.

Ahmed was born in 1939 during a sea crocodile hunt in the largest mangrove swamp in the Ganges. She was drawn to sculpture from a young age, inspired by watching her mother make dolls and clay houses. When her father attempted to marry her off to a noble family, she resisted, insisting that she wanted to become a sculptor.

Ahmed studied design at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts in London, graduating in 1955 and going on to receive further training in Florence and Vienna. She rose to prominence in 1960 with Inner Gaze, the first-ever solo sculpture exhibition by any sculptor in Bangladesh or Pakistan. A collaboration with painter Hamidur Rahman resulted in the Shaheed Minar, a national monument in Dhaka commemorating the Bengali Language Movement demonstrations of 1952.


In 1963, Ahmed bid farewell to her home and settled permanently in Paris. Two years traveling through East Asia inspired a departure in form, yielding several assemblages made from the debris of American warplanes. In 1997, Ahmed received an Ekushey Padak, the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh.

Today, many of her works can be viewed at the Novera Ahmed Museum, founded in 2018 by her husband in the small town of La Roche-Guyon outside of Paris.

[9A]

July 16, 2018

Celebrating World Cup 2018 Champions: France!




Congratulations to the 2018 FIFA World Cup champions: France!

Over the past month, players from the men's national teams of 32 countries competed for top rank across 12 venues in 11 cities across Russia. With a total of 64 matches [and plenty of GOOOALS!], the games have culminated at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, where the French national team has won to become the 2018 World Cup champions.

This year's Doodle series celebrated the rich cultures and talent of all 32 participating countries by featuring guest artists hailing from each nation. We hope you've enjoyed all 32 Doodles throughout the games, each illustrating the artist's interpretation of, "What ⚽ looks like in my country."

Today's Doodle is a unique creation by our very own French Doodler, Helene Leroux, depicting, "What World Cup victory looks like in my country!"

Cheers to all the talented players around the world. See you next time!

[9A]

June 29, 2008

European Football Championship Winner 2008 - Spain




The UEFA European Football Championship,less formally the European Championship and informally the Euros, is the primary association football tournament organized by the Union of European Football Associations [UEFA]. The competition is contested by UEFA members’ senior men's national teams, determining the continental champion of Europe.

[9A]

Jul 3, 2008

Turkish Oil Wrestling 2008



Oil wrestling, also called grease wrestling, is a traditional Turkish sport, where participants, called pehlivan [wrestlers] or baspehlivan [master wrestlers], wrestle while covered in oil. Competitions are held in proving grounds. One challenge of oil wrestling is that oiling the wrestlers' bodies makes it harder to grab each other.

Oil wrestling was performed by ancient communities 4,500 years ago in Thrace and the Balkans. As the Ottoman Empire extended into Europe, oil wrestling competitions started being held and still take place today.

[9A]

August 17, 2020

Librado Silva Galeana’s 78th Birthday





Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Chihuahua-based guest artist Raul Urias, celebrates Mexican translator, teacher, researcher, and author Librado Silva Galeana, an expert in the ancient Nahuatl language that was spoken within Mexico’s Aztek and Toltec civilizations. Galeana is widely known for his Spanish translation of a 16th-century collection of Nahuatl oral history called Huehuetlahtolli: Testimonies of the Old Word, in addition to many other Nahuatl poems and stories that encapsulate Mexico’s rich history and culture.

Librado Silva Galeana was born on this day in 1942 in Santa Ana Tlacotenco, Mexico. His parents were both Nahuatl speakers and passed the language down to Galeana. Fueled by a love of linguistics, he studied to become a teacher and dedicated much of his academic work to the preservation and promotion of his mother tongue of Nahuatl.

In the mid-1970s, he collaborated with fellow Nahuatl teachers to found the Ignacio Ramírez Social and Cultural Circle, a group named after the famed 19th-century Mexican writer and dedicated to the study of the language. Throughout his career, Galeana carried on Ramírez’s legacy of championing indigenous languages and knowledge. He contributed his expertise in Nahuatl to a variety of scholarly research in order to develop a deeper understanding of the indigenous heritage that helped to shape modern Mexico.

In recognition of his efforts to conserve the Nahuatl language and culture, Galeana was awarded the Nezahualcóyotl Prize for Indigneous Languages by Mexico’s Federal District Department in 1994.

Happy birthday, Librado Silva Galeana, and thank you for helping to preserve and celebrate culture.

[9A]

August 17, 2011

Pierre de Fermat's 410th Birthday




Pierre de Fermat was not a particularly revolutionary mathematician. A lawyer full-time, he practiced math as a hobby and never devoted enough time to it to become widely celebrated in his day. His name lives on today, though, because his sly wit generated a mystery for the ages that perplexed mathematicians for 358 years.

Fermat wrote many little theorems, including the deceptively simple Last Theorem, which states that no three positive integers a, b, and c can satisfy the equation an + bn = cn when n is greater than two. Fermat first scrawled this supposition in the margins of the Arithmetica by Diophantus, followed by the note: "I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this, which this margin is too narrow to contain." It remains hotly contested to this day whether Fermat actually did have a proof, or whether he was just using the convenient excuse of a small margin to avoid being held responsible for it. Either way, his theorem remained unproved until 1995, when British mathematician Andrew Wiles successfully developed a solution – a saga documented in the excellent BBC Horizon documentary, "Fermat's Last Theorem."

We were so tickled by Fermat's little jab that we tried something similar. When this doodle ran, the hover text read: "I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this theorem, which this doodle is too small to contain."

Posted by Sophia Foster-Dimino

[9A]

August 17, 2021

Indonesia Independence Day 2021




On this day in 1945, Indonesian leaders declared that the group of over 17,000 South Asian islands comprised a sovereign nation. Guest artist Kathrin Honesta illustrated today's Doodle to celebrate Indonesia’s Independence Day, known formally in Indonesian as Hari Kemerdekaan and colloquially as Tujuhbelasan [“the Seventeenth”].

As Indonesia is home to over 300 unique, ethnic and linguistic groups, its Independence Day celebrations reflect its multicultural identity while also promoting solidarity within local communities—the nation’s motto “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” means “Unity in Diversity.” Events include everything from traditional costume fashion shows, horse races to festivals centered around the decoration of bicycles. Although a great variety of celebrations can be observed on this holiday, displays of traditional Indonesian song and dance in annual carnival parades are ubiquitous across the archipelago. This year takes on a different meaning where communities are staying strong to protect each other and still celebrate their identity at home.

Each letter in the Doodle artwork depicts elements common to Independence Day festivities, beginning with the Sasando, a nine-stringed harp-like instrument made of bamboo and palm leaves native to Rote Island of East Nusa Tenggara. From left to right, the other instruments, objects, and people pictured include a Rebana, a tambourine-like instrument; a Hudoq mask from Kalimantan; a Pakarena fan dancer from Sulawesi; a Tifa, a percussion instrument from Maluku; and finally, a Gambus or lute from Sumatera. The batik patterns and masks are unique to the instruments and dance origins.

Happy Independence Day and keep stronger together, Indonesia!

[9A]

August 17, 2012

Indonesia Independence Day 2012



This is the 67th anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia's independence in 1945. An archipelago that consists of over 17,000 islands, 33 provinces, hundreds of ethnic groups, dozens of dialects and a diverse culture that influences day-to-day life from dance to cuisine, the world's fourth most populous country is a growing global economic power.

Independence day celebrations call for a community gathering in village squares or city neighborhoods to partake in various games where children [and adults] compete in sack races, eating krupuk [an Indonesian cracker] or fruit hanging on a string and climbing a pinang tree to reach for a prize, to name a few. Today's Doodle showcases the traditions of this happy occasion.

[9A]

February 8, 2018

Paula Modersohn-Becker’s 142nd Birthday






Renowned German expressionist painter Paula Modersohn-Becker was born on this day in 1876. Her art bears witness to her courage, boldness, and ambition — a temperament that greatly influenced her short but prolific career.

Exposed to the intellectual world from the time she was a young child growing up in Dresden-Friedrichstadt, Modersohn-Becker began her artistic endeavors as a student in Bremen, and at the age of 18, moved to an artist’s colony in Worpswede. There she met her future husband, but hungry to learn more, she moved to Paris to study and urged him to join her.

In the years that followed, her personal life underwent many changes. But through all the turbulence, she continued to paint, producing more than 80 pictures in 1906 alone. Her writings explain this frenetic pace as a necessity to make up for the first two ‘lost’ decades of her life.

An early expressionist, she joined the likes of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse in introducing modernism to the world. Modersohn-Becker was known for her bold choices as an artist — be it her depictions of nude female figures [among the very first women artists to do so], or those of women breastfeeding their children. She tenaciously resisted the strict expectations held of women of her era, preferring exploration and painting over more traditional pastimes.

Today’s Doodle reflects her artistic style depicting domestic subjects, and is illustrated by Berlin-based duo Golden Cosmos.

Happy Birthday, Paula Modersohn-Becker!

[9A]

February 8, 2012

Ito Jakuchu's 296th Birthday




Itō Jakuchū was a Japanese painter of the mid-Edo period when Japan had closed its doors to the outside world. Many of his paintings concern traditionally Japanese subjects, particularly chickens and other birds. Many of his otherwise traditional works display a great degree of experimentation with perspective, and with other very modern stylistic elements.

[9A]

February 8, 2013

Jagjit Singh's 72nd Birthday




Jagjit Singh [[born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman; 8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011) was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in numerous languages and is credited for the revival and popularity of ghazal, an Indian classical art form, by choosing poetry that was relevant to the masses and composing them in a way that laid more emphasis on the meaning of words and melody evoked by them. In terms of Indian classical music, his style of composing and gayaki [singing] is considered as Bol-pradhan, one that lays emphasis on words.

Singh is considered to be the most successful ghazal singer and composer of all time in terms of critical acclaim and commercial success. With a career spanning five decades and many albums, the range and breadth of his work has been regarded as genre-defining.

[9A]

February 8, 2016

Dmitri Mendeleev’s 182nd Birthday



Around 400 BC, the ancient Greeks organized the worldly elements into four groups: air, water, earth, and fire. In the seventeenth century, Robert Boyle explained the material world in terms of elements, mixtures, and compounds. And in 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev made sense of the 56 elements known at the time, showing how they related to each other in a distinct pattern. His periodic table let elements fall into "periods" according to atomic mass and valence [the power that determines how they combine].

Scholars had attempted to organize the elements into a table before, but Mendeleev's work extended beyond mere chart-making. Mendeleev used the logic of his table to argue for the existence of yet-to-be discovered elements [like gallium and germanium], and even to predict their behaviors. Some of these predictions were wrong, but the basic principles behind his periodic organization continue to stand at the foundation of modern chemistry. The periodic table of the elements [now with 118 elements and counting] adorns science classrooms worldwide.

In the final illustration, artist Robinson Wood imagines Mendeleev in the act of setting down the logic of his table [[which reportedly came to him in a dream). Today, on Mendeleev's 182nd birthday, we celebrate how this visionary helped us order and understand our world.

[9A]

November 20, 2019

Maude ‘Lores’ Bonney’s 122nd Birthday



Today’s Doodle celebrates Australian aviator Maude Rose ‘Lores’ Bonney, who was the first woman to fly solo from Australia to England. A pioneer for women in aviation, she completed the 1933 journey in 157 hours of flight time, surviving a groundbreaking voyage fraught with peril as she flew through heavy storms, survived two crashes, and had an encounter with a herd of water buffalo.

A flight with her husband’s cousin in 1928 sparked her desire to become a pilot. By 1931, Lores had dedicated herself to flying, embarking on her first solo flight in a Gipsy Moth biplane named My Little Ship. A record-breaking first flight, it took Lores nearly 15 hours to fly south from Brisbane, Queensland, to meet her father for dinner in Wangaratta, Victoria.

Lores continued to push the boundaries for aviators with each successive flight, and in 1937, Lores became the first person to fly solo from Australia to her birthplace of South Africa.

With her honorary doctorate from Griffith University, confirmation as a Member of the Order of the British Empire [MBE] and a Member of the Order of Australia [AM], as well as a Queensland electoral district named after her, Lores’ achievements serve to inspire pilots of the future. Unlike Lores, however, today’s pilots have access to a radio and won’t have to do their own maintenance to get to their destination.

[9A]

February 8, 2011

Jules Verne's 183rd Birthday







It wasn’t very difficult for something to spark my imagination when I was a child—whether it was a pile of leaves or a couch of stackable cushions, just about anything could jump-start my creativity. My first encounter with Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, however, sent my imagination into hyper drive.

I first found the novel while browsing through a random aisle in my local library. The cover was dark, murky and a little worn—but it was the most spectacular thing I’d ever seen. A pair of old-fashioned divers drag their feet over the ocean floor, watching a school of fish drift by. They don’t seem to notice the twisting silhouette of a monster inching toward them.

The cover alone pulled me in, but I didn’t want to spoil all of the possible story lines by actually reading the book. Looking back, I realize that what fascinated me most was the unknown: a creative spark and the imaginative exploration that followed. Since then, I’ve become more familiar with his work and still believe that exploration is the essence of Verne’s novels. His stories pull the readers into a world filled with infinite potential—be it in the clouds, on land or under the sea.

Today’s doodle, celebrating Verne’s 183rd birthday, tries to capture that sense of adventure and exploration. Using CSS3 [and with help from our resident tech wizards Marcin Wichary and Kris Hom], the doodle enables anyone to navigate the Nautilus [[nearly) 20,000 leagues with the simple pull of a lever. And for those using devices with built-in accelerometers and the latest versions of Google Chrome or Firefox, it’s even simpler—just tilt your device in the direction you want to explore and the Nautilus will follow.

So voyage below [and above] the waves to see what you can discover... just make sure to keep an eye out for the giant squid.

Update Feb 9, 8:44 AM: You can now explore the ocean from our Jules Verne doodle in full view and HD.

posted by Jennifer Hom

[9A]

Feb 6, 2011

Jan Werich's Birthday




Jan Werich was a Czech actor, playwright and writer.

[9A]

November 1, 2018

Joseph Burr Tyrrell’s 160th Birthday




Today’s Doodle celebrates Joseph Burr Tyrrell, an explorer, mapmaker, geologist, and miner whose discovery of a fossilized Albertosaurus sarcophagus skull set off Western Canada’s “great dinosaur rush.”

Born in Weston, Ontario on this day in 1858, Tyrrell contracted scarlet fever as a child, but he didn’t allow impaired hearing and eyesight to hold him back. Upon graduation from the University of Toronto, he was encouraged by his father to become a lawyer, but his doctor advised him to work outdoors for the sake of his health. Joining the Geological Survey of Canada, he embarked on his first expedition in 1883, charting a westward path through the Rockies for the Canadian Pacific railroad.

The following year the 26-year-old led his own expedition, mapping a vast area known as “the Badlands,” which was once an ancient ecosystem filled with giant reptiles. While searching for coal, Tyrrell discovered dinosaur bones in Red Deer Valley, stumbling upon the enormous skull and skeleton of a creature that turned out to be 70 million years old. After carefully excavating the fossils he shipped them back to Calgary. The weight of his discovery broke the axle of the wagon carrying it, but the fossils eventually made their way to paleontologists who called the creature Albertosaurus Sarcophagus, a newly discovered genus named for the new Canadian province of Alberta and related to the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Excitement over the Tyrrell’s discovery inspired many other paleontologists to explore Drumheller, where a museum named for Tyrrell opened in 1985, boasting one of the world’s leading collections of dinosaur fossils. However, Tyrrell never claimed to be a paleontologist, focusing instead on the coal deposits he found in Drumheller, which became an important energy resource for Canada.

"My idea of peace and comfort was a tent by a clear brook anywhere north of 50 degrees of North Latitude," wrote Tyrrell during one of his many adventures. "A ground-sheet and blankets enough, a side of salt pork and a bag of flour… For glory, I had the stars and the Northern Lights."

Happy Birthday Joseph Tyrrell!

[9A]

May 17, 2018

Alfonso Reyes’ 129th Birthday



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

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

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

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

Feliz cumpleaños, Alfonso Reyes!


Doodle illustrated by Juan Palomino.

[9A]

January 15, 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]

November 12, 2018

Alexander Borodin’s 185th Birthday




The son of a Georgian prince, Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin was a sickly child who went on to create a powerful legacy in two different fields. Today’s Doodle celebrates the boy who grew up to become both a distinguished chemist and one of Russia’s greatest classical composers.

Born in St. Petersburg on this day in 1833, Borodin showed an early aptitude for science, languages, and music. While mastering German, French, and English, he began studying flute at age eight and later learned the violin and violoncello. By the age of 13 he’d already composed a piece for flute and piano — nevertheless, he considered music to be a hobby while his main focus was in the field of science.

At 17, Borodin began his studies at St Petersburg’s Medico-Surgical Academy, delving into botany, zoology, anatomy, and crystallography—but he soon specialized in organic chemistry, earning his doctorate in 1858. He went on to become a professor at his alma mater, conducting research on benzene derivatives and organic synthesis, and the discovery of the aldol reaction. He’s also remembered as a champion of women’s rights, having founded the Women’s Medical School in St. Petersburg, where he taught for many years. Still, the music kept calling him.

In the 1860s he met Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev, a pianist and composer who would become his musical mentor. Borodin soon made him part of a group known as “The Five” [[aka “The Mighty Handful”) whose goal was to develop a distinctly Russian style of classical music. Borodin’s incorporation of traditional folk music, and his striking use of harmony in works like “The Steppes of Central Asia,” made him a leading figure of the Romantic era.

Championed by such fellow composers as Liszt, Debussy, and Ravel, Borodin’s work has had a lasting influence on classical music. His unforgettable melodies were adapted for Kismet, the Tony-Award-winning musical that went from Broadway to Hollywood with songs like “Stranger in Paradise.”

с Днем рожденья Alexander Borodin!

[9A]

September 10, 2021

Tránsito Amaguaña's 112th Birthday





Today’s Doodle honors Ecuadorian Quechua activist Tránsito Amaguaña on her 112th birthday. She was an advocate who fought to secure legal rights for Ecuador’s farm workers, Indigenous communities, and women.

Rosa Elena Tránsito Amaguaña Alba or “Mama Tránsito” was born on this day in 1909 in San Miguel de Pesillo, Ecuador. Her family were huasipungueros—farmers who labored seven days a week on a hacienda with no pay except a small plot of land for growing food. Although Amaguaña’s mother hoped she could attend school long enough to become literate, her education was cut short when she was forced into domestic work on the hacienda at a young age. In 1930, Amaguaña walked barefoot for several days to Quito with her small children in tow over 25 times to join protesters in demanding a salary and a day of rest each week for hacienda workers like her family and neighbors.

This event marked the start of Amaguaña’s tireless lifelong activism. She fulfilled her mother’s wish on trips to Cuba where she learned to read and write; and how to organize land collectives and labor unions. She helped organize Ecuador’s first farm worker unions and in 1931, she participated in the unions’ first strike in Olmedo. Amaguaña continued traveling throughout the region but returned to Quito often, where she developed a close friendship with fellow activist Dolores Cacuango. Alongside other Indigenous leaders, they co-founded the Federación Ecuatoriana de Indios [Ecuadorian Indian Federation] in 1944 which advocated for terminating hacienda ownership and returning the land to the local workers.

After years of struggle, labor laws were eventually passed to protect farm workers. Not wanting Indigenous children to face the same education restrictions she experienced, Amaguaña helped found four schools with classes taught in Spanish and Quechua. A school in Guayaquil, Ecuador that bears her name preserves her multifaceted legacy.

Happy Birthday, Tránsito Amaguaña!

[9A]

March 11, 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]

July 1, 2020

Celebrating the Litfaßsäule





Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Hamburg-based guest artists Rocket & Wink, celebrates the Litfaßsäule. These iconic advertising pillars were named after the man who first suggested them, Ernst Litfaß [pronounced Lit-fass]. On this date in 1855, to the fanfare of a live orchestra, Berlin’s very first Litfaßsäule was dedicated at the intersection of Münzstraße and what is today Almstadtstraße.

Before the creation of Litfaßsäule, Berlin had a problem with advertisements—they were scattered all over the city, from walls to fences and everywhere in between. The widespread clutter irked Litfaß, and so the clever printer and publisher proposed these dedicated advertising pillars to be placed on Berlin’s busiest corners and plazas as a more organized alternative.

The city agreed to commission 150 pillars as an official system for paid advertisements, and before long the columns were lined cleanly with eye-catching notices for cultural institutions like theaters and dance halls. The unusual, three-meter-tall fixtures were met with huge popularity among Berlin’s residents. Over the decades, the Litfaßsäule came to serve as a symbol of Berlin, and booklovers may even recognize one from the famous cover of Erich Kästner's 1929 children’s book “Emil and the Detectives.”

Today, there are over 50,000 Litfaßsäule—many like those depicted in the Doodle artwork—in use throughout Germany, and they still serve as a popular and practical advertising channel for local events and small organizations. While many of Berlin’s original pillars have since been removed or replaced by newer models, it’s clear that the Litfaßsäule continue to hold a special place in the hearts of the city’s residents.

Danke to all the Litfaßsäulen that have helped make Berlin such a special place!

[9A]

July 1, 2022

Canada Day 2022


Today’s Doodle recognizes Canada Day by portraying the diversity of the natural landscapes and geographic regions that Canadians call home. Canada is the second largest country in the world, with a landmass of over nine million square kilometres—spanning the highest point at Mount Logan,Yukon to the Easternmost point in Cape Spear, Newfoundland and every point in between.

As seen in the artwork, Canada is home to cascading waterfalls and majestic western mountains, and is known for natural wonders such as the Great Lakes, vast Prairies, sprawling evergreen forests, cold, bare tundra, 41 national parks, and so much more.

It is important to acknowledge that the land that Canadians call home is situated on traditional Indigenous territories. Inuit, First Nations, and Métis people have cared for the landscapes depicted in this Doodle for thousands of years and continue to contribute to the strength of this land. For further reading on what Canadians can do to support reconciliation efforts, please read the 94 Calls to Action developed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Canada Day is a moment for Canadians to reflect on the history of the land and the opportunities that lie ahead.

[9A]

Aug 4, 2022

Qixi Festival 2022



Today’s Doodle celebrates the Qixi Festival, a traditional holiday celebrated in Taiwan, Singapore and other parts of Asia based on a romantic legend. It’s also known as the Double Seventh Festival, the Night of the Sevens and the Magpie Festival. It is observed on the seventh day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar. On this day, singles and couples exchange gifts such as roses and candy with their romantic interests.

The ancient Chinese used to worship stars in ancient times, and noticed Niulang [or oxherd, Altair] and Zhinü [or weaver girl, Vega] met in the sky on the double seventh. The romantic legend is about an oxherd and fairy who fell madly in love despite their differences. In the story, Zhinü decided to stay on Earth without permission and became a weaver girl.

When the queen mother of the heavens learned of their marriage, she forced Zhinü to return. Niulang, with their two children, then flew into the skies above to save his wife before the queen exiled him back to Earth. She then used her hairpin to create a river, the Milky Way, between the Earth and the heavens. The couple’s sorrow was felt throughout the universe. Moved by the overwhelming despair of their separation, the queen allowed the family to meet on the double seventh via a bridge of magpies flying over the river.

Qixi Festival has origins dating back to the Han Dynasty. Older traditions used to include demonstrations of crafting skills, worship services devoted to Zhinü and flower-hanging ceremonies honoring oxen. These traditions have been recognized less by younger generations, who prefer to celebrate in simpler ways. However, the legend of Niulang and Zhinü still has deep roots in the hearts of Chinese-speaking people around the world.

Happy Qixi Festival!