Six Fun Ways to Use Google

Yesterday, we talked about some useful ways to use Google's search.  Today's tip will not be nearly as useful, but it will be a lot more fun!

Before we begin, it is important to note that Google adds and removes features regularly, so some of these may not work if you reread this in a few months.  (Unless otherwise noted, they do work right now.)  I was very disappointed to see that one of my favorites, the "Kayak across the Pacific Ocean" instruction on Google Maps, had been removed.  You can read about it here if you didn't see it before.

Now, here are seven ways to have fun on Google's search pages:

1) Give Google Commands - Type "do a barrel roll" into a search box and watch the page...do a barrel roll.  Type "tilt" or "askew" and watch the page go slightly off.  Around Christmas last year, you could type "Let It Snow" and the page would snow and frost over, allowing you to draw on the window.  (But as I tell the kids on my school bus, "Keep it school appropriate!")

2) Calculate More Than Numbers -  The Google Calculator is also programmed to handle other questions, such as "what is the loneliest number" (a reference to a song from the 60's) or "what is the answer to life, the universe, and everything" (a reference from the movie, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.)  Type anything with a numerical response in and see if Google knows it.  Then, amaze your friends who don't know the references (that's what happened to me with both of those examples!)

3) Calculate a Bacon Number - No, this isn't how much bacon you should eat each day, this is a play on the "Six Degrees of Separation" game using Kevin Bacon.  Pick any actor or actress and see how many connections must be made in order for Google to connect that person to Kevin Bacon.

4) Fight Off a Zerg Rush - I had never heard of a Zerg Rush before reading this online, but apparently, this is an alien race that attack in swarms in the video game Starcraft.  Search for "zerg rush" and a whole bunch of little O's will invade your screen and eat your search results.  Keep them from destroying your screen by clicking on them to destroy them.

5) Fly Yourself Anywhere - If you use Google Earth, you can use the flight simulator option to fly anywhere in the world.  In Google Earth, click on Tools and select Enter Flight Simulator or press Ctrl+Alt+A.

6) Browse the Google Doodles - Okay, this one is fun and somewhat useful!  You have probably noticed that the Google logo often changes based on current or historical events.  These are called "Google Doodles".  Google actually produces many different doodles for events around the world.  If you go to google.com/doodles, you can browse the many recent doodles published around the world.  Not only can you have fun looking at the various doodles, but you can learn some history at the same time.

Bonus:  Google has released some doodles that are actually games.  You can play goalie in this soccer game, race a canoe in this slalom canoe game, jump the hurdles in this race, or play Pacman in this doodle celebrating the game's 30th anniversary.