Google Doodles

[Fran]

Today would have been Michael Jackson's 51st birthday.

Isn't he supposed to be buried today?  Finally....

The doodle reminds me of this:

[Sason]

I like this one.

[Fran]

I like this one.

Me, too.  I like the ones where you have to look for the G-o-o-g-l-e.

[Penthesilea]

" Mysterious phenomenon raises questions - Google doesn't offer an explanation for today's Google Doodle. Usually Google marks anniversaries of important events or famous persons with its Google Doodles. The fact that today's Google Doodle doesn't seem to go with this custom and that Google doesn't offer any explanation sparks curiosity and leads to discussions on the world wide net."

~ paraphrased from a German news article (http://www.topnews.de/raetselhaftes-phaenomen-wirft-fragen-auf-372470)

[Fran]

[Sason]

Speaking of which...



On 070707 I saw Brokeback for the very first time....

[Fran]

Google Crop Circles Logo, Missing "L"
Sep 14, 2009 at 9:07pm ET by Barry Schwartz

Currently, most Google search properties that are currently in a time zone that is September 15th, such as Google UK, are sporting a special Google Doodle that links to a search result for crop circles. It seems likely this logo will appear in the US soon.

The logo shows a flying saucer above a series of crop circles that spell Google. Well, almost — the L has been abducted. That similar to the last Google flying saucer logo from ten days ago, where an O was taken.

If you look at today’s logo’s file name, it’s goog_e.gif — reflecting the missing L. The last logo was go_gle.gif – reflecting the missing O. So that’s O, then L — what are they going to spell?


[Note:  See Reply No. 143 above (by Penthesilea) to see the recent Google flying saucer logo mentioned in the article.]

[Penthesilea]

Google Crop Circles Logo, Missing "L"
Sep 14, 2009 at 9:07pm ET by Barry Schwartz

Currently, most Google search properties that are currently in a time zone that is September 15th, such as Google UK, are sporting a special Google Doodle that links to a search result for crop circles. It seems likely this logo will appear in the US soon.

The logo shows a flying saucer above a series of crop circles that spell Google. Well, almost — the L has been abducted. That similar to the last Google flying saucer logo from ten days ago, where an O was taken.

If you look at today’s logo’s file name, it’s goog_e.gif — reflecting the missing L. The last logo was go_gle.gif – reflecting the missing O. So that’s O, then L — what are they going to spell?


[Note:  See Reply No. 143 above (by Penthesilea) to see the recent Google flying saucer logo mentioned in the article.]

You beat me to it.
I'm definitively curious about it (just what they want, I know ).

So that’s O, then L — what are they going to spell?

I know it! OLIVER, the name of my son!
 


Or maybe: OLIVES ARE GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH?
Or: OLIGARCHY IS OUTDATED?
Or: OLL UMENZ R REQUIRED BY NU LAW TA FEED CATZ TEN TIMZ A DAY!

Yes, that must be it. The LOL cats have taken control over the internet and are sending subliminal messages.

[Fran]

Another theory:

Google crop circle doodle mystery: Coordinates clue
Coordinates posted to Google's Twitter account could provide clues to the meaning of the company's new crop circle logo
 
Published: 10:57AM BST 15 Sep 2009

A new post on Google's Twitter feed has provided a clue for web users seeking to uncover the meaning behind the search giant's recent series of UFO-related Google doodles.

The Twitter message simply reads: "51.327629, -0.5616088", and links to an image of the crop circle logo on the Google homepage, showing the letter "L" being abducted by a flying saucer.
 
Web sleuths have found that the string of numbers is actually the latitude and longitude for Woodham Road in Woking, Surrey, sparking intense speculation about what the message could mean.

Diabolik posted one theory on Twitter: "The War of the Worlds (1898), by H. G. Wells, based in Horsell Common north of Woking, was an early science fiction novel which describes an invasion of England by aliens from Mars. It is one of the earliest and best-known depictions of an alien invasion."

"H.G. Wells birthday is Sept 21. This is a 'lead-up' as was Sept 5th logo," tweeted Joshgjohnson.

Another Twitter user, Rajeshshenoy, noted that on this day in 1985, a family in Surrey spotted two large, flying saucer-shaped objects in the sky.

The crop circle doodle has appeared online 10 days after Google revealed a new logo showing a flying saucer hovering over the word "Google", and "abducting" the letter "O" in the ship's tractor beam.

Today's doodle, which is currently only visible on Google's UK homepage, has been dismissed by some internet users as a publicity stunt for an upcoming film, while others believe the "abducted" letters will spell out the name of a new Google product or service.

Google has refused to comment on the rumours and speculation, saying only that the mystery of the doodles would be revealed
"in time". It also confirmed that its doodles were never used for commercial advertising, exploding the myth that the doodles could in some way be related to a film release.

[Fran]

I also found this, which relates to the earlier UFO doodle:

Google statement on its unexplained phenomenon doodle
Google has added to the mystery surrounding the appearance of a UFO on its home page on Saturday by releasing a statement which does nothing to end the speculation surrounding it.
 
Published: 8:08AM BST 06 Sep 2009

The UFO, which appeared to be abducting the second O in the word Google, referred the user to the search term "unexplained phenomenon" when clicked. The term was, throughout Saturday, one of the most searched-for phrases on the search engine.

Google tends to use its so-called doodles - the adaptations of its logo - to mark major calendar events or the birthdays of large organisations. But Saturday's doodle appeared to have no commemorative tie-in and the web was alive with speculation as to its purpose.
 
During the morning, a numeric code - 1.12.12 25.15.21.18 15 1.18.5 2.5.12.15.14.7 20.15 21.19 - appeared on Google's Twitter stream. The code, which translated to the phrase "all your O are belong to us", was an echo of a famous internet meme from 2000.

But late on Saturday Google released the following statement: "We consider the second ‘o’ critical to user recognition of our brand and pronunciation of our name. We are actively looking into the mysterious tweet that has appeared on the Google twitter stream and the disappearance of the “o” on the Google homepage. We hope to have an update in the coming weeks.”

What do you think the real reason is behind Google's unexplained phenomenon?