Fact 1: Google’s Non-Existent First Server
In 1996, while the renowned search engine company was still a research project, its first server was built with Lego bricks. Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the inventors of Google, made their debut server almost completely out of toy blocks due to their extremely limited funding at that time. The quirky server could hold only 10 million search documents and was housed at Stanford University.
Fact 2: The Name Mystery - From BackRub to Google
Google was initially named "BackRub", symbolizing the process of checking backlinks used to measure the site's importance. It was later renamed 'Google' - a play on the word "googol", which represents the number 'one followed by a hundred zeros', reflecting the company's mission to arrange vast information on the web.
Fact 3: G-Mail’s April Fool’s Day Launch
Google has a notorious reputation for pulling off April Fool’s Day pranks. However, in 2004, Google introduced the Gmail service precisely on April 1, which many assumed was another prank. It turned out not to be a prank, and Gmail eventually became a widely used email platform worldwide.
Fact 4: Google’s Incredible Appetite for Acquisitions
Google has a penchant for buying companies. In fact, since 2010, Google has been acquiring an average of one company per week. Some of the biggest acquisitions include YouTube, Android, DoubleClick, and Waze, all of which have immensely contributed to Google's presence across various tech platforms.
Fact 5: The Secondary Reason for Google Image Search
Google Image Search was launched in 2001 following the 2000 Grammy Award ceremony where Jennifer Lopez wore a unique green Versace dress that resulted in a massive spike in image search queries. Google implemented a feature for image-based searches to help users find images directly.
Fact 6: Google's Doodles
The first Google Doodle was an out-of-office message. In 1998, Brin and Page took a day off to attend the Burning Man festival in Nevada and updated the company logo with a stick figure, to notify users that they were unavailable.
Fact 7: Self-driven Future
Google's autonomous car project, now known as Waymo, has clocked enough miles to circumnavigate the globe 400 times approximately. These self-driving cars have covered millions of miles without the input of any human driver.
Fact 8: Google Has a T-Rex
Google’s Mountain View headquarters in California has a life-sized replica of a T-Rex dinosaur. The T-Rex is symbolic, reminding Google employees to always be innovative and avoid becoming dinosaurs.
Fact 9: Goats to Mow the Lawn
Instead of lawn mowers, Google rents goats from a company called California Grazing to mow the lawns at their Mountain View site. This eco-friendly initiative shows Google's commitment to the environment.
Fact 10: The ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ Feature
The 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button, which directly shows the top search result, costs Google around $110 million per year as it bypasses all other ads. Despite this, Google keeps this feature for its historical value.
Fact 11: Google's Immense Processing Power
Google processes over 3.5 billion searches daily, which calculates to 40,000 searches per second. This massive figure gives an insight into the power of Google's technological infrastructure.
Fact 12: Google is Energy Efficient
In 2007, Google became the first major company to become carbon neutral. By 2017, Google aimed to run 100% of its operations on renewable energy, making it a leader in corporate sustainability.
Fact 13: Google’s Vendetta Against Gossip
Google has an internal tool called "gWhiz", which is used to alert anyone who discusses rumors or confidential information about Google. This tool reflects Google's vigilance in maintaining corporate secrecy.
Fact 14: The Google Mystery Barge
In 2013, an odd structure emerged in the San Francisco Bay that sparked numerous conspiracy theories. Known as the "Google Barge," the structure was speculated to be a data center, a store, or even a space for special events.
Fact 15: The Cute Error
The Google team mistakenly purchased 'Google.com' on the 29th of September, 2015. In a magnanimous gesture, the person who had bought the domain was awarded a healthy sum by Google.
Fact 16: Google’s Annual Code-in Contest for Teens
Google supports young tech enthusiasts by conducting annual contests like The Google Code-in. This contest invites pre-university students from around the world to contribute to open-source projects.
Fact 17: Google Literally Startled the World with “Do a barrel roll”
When entered the phrase “Do a barrel roll” into its search box, the whole browser screen will do a 360-degree spin. It was initially an Easter egg, designed by Google developers for fun.
Fact 18: Google's Generous Employee Perks
Google provides a host of unique employee benefits. These range from free gourmet food and on-site healthcare to paid parental leave and even death benefits, where the deceased employee's spouse receives 50% of their salary for 10 years.
Fact 19: Google’s Innovative Street View Technology
Google’s Street View used a person named Pegman to create its mapping system. It started as an icon and eventually spawned into a physical figure covered in athlete-level gear and trekked through numerous terrains to create Google's street view mapping system.
Fact 20: The Magic Number '3.14159'
When Google intended to share its IPO (Initial Public Offering) details, its prospectus stated a desire to raise $2,718,281,828, which is the numeral representation of 'e' in mathematics. Moreover, they planned to release 14,159,265 shares - an approximation of the mathematical constant Pi (3.14159). These peculiar numbers indicate Google's profound love for mathematics.
Google continues to break technological boundaries and amuses individuals worldwide with its innovative, quirky, and often humorous nature. It shows that a company can be immensely successful while embodying a fun and idiosyncratic culture.