{"id":51429,"date":"2013-09-27T10:25:18","date_gmt":"2013-09-27T08:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onsoftware.en.softonic.com\/?p=51429"},"modified":"2025-07-02T01:08:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T08:08:21","slug":"10-fantastic-google-easter-eggs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/10-fantastic-google-easter-eggs\/","title":{"rendered":"10 fantastic Google Easter Eggs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Google<\/a> loves hiding secrets in their services and products. The company has had 15 years to fill the internet with memes, references to pop culture, and humorous oddities. To coincide with Google’s birthday<\/a>, I’ve compiled a list of the ten best Easter Eggs, and how you can access them. This list extends to many Google services and software, including Search<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Android<\/a>, Maps<\/a>, and more.<\/p>\n

Search Easter Egg: Zerg Rush<\/h3>\n

If you’ve ever played the Blizzard<\/a> game Starcraft<\/a> you might be aware of the Zerg, an alien hive mind race that attacks in ravenous swarms. One of the main strategies is the Zerg Rush, with prioritizes releasing an army of cheap units to overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers. Typing in Zerg Rush into Google web search recreates this tactic.<\/p>\n

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“O’s” will descend on the search results and destroy each link. Each O can be destroyed by clicking on it three times, but the amount on screen makes it a hard job. Upon destroying all link the O’s form into a large “GG”, a common Starcraft term for “good game”.<\/p>\n

Translate Easter Egg: Beatbox<\/h3>\n

Google Translate<\/a> is a means of understanding other languages, but what about the universal language of music? Alright, beatboxing might not be a traditional, but it’s a really neat way of turning your voice into a percussion instrument. Entering certain phrases into the Google translate dialog box will turn the normal “Listen” icon into “Beatbox”<\/strong> mode. You have to include several lines to turn on this feature, though it’s hard to find the actual minimum. The following are some of the text sounds that roughly translate to Beatbox rudiments.<\/p>\n

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pv = brushing
\nbk = bass
\nvk = roll tap
\nzk = symbol
\nkrp = hig hat
\npv = short roll
\nds = rimshot
\nbsch = snare
\ntk, kt = flam<\/p>\n

YouTube Easter Egg: VHS button<\/h3>\n

For the 57th anniversary of the VHS, YouTube added a “Tape Mode”<\/strong> button. This gave videos a degraded, VHS look, complete with a blurry pause and lots of visual noise. While the button is off by default, it can be accessed by including “&vhs=1” <\/strong>at the end of any YouTube link.<\/p>\n

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Android Easter Egg: Secret images<\/h3>\n

Since Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), Android has included secret images that can be accessed in the “About phone” menu. Enter “Settings”<\/strong>, “About phone”<\/strong> and quickly tap “Android version”<\/strong>. With enough speed a secret graphic will appear based on the OS.<\/p>\n

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