Google’s 25th Anniversary Easter Eggs: What Search Showed

For Google’s 25th birthday on September 27, 2023, the search engine celebrated with a series of playful, interactive easter eggs. Searching for specific terms triggered confetti, a retro 1998-style results page, a bouncing ball game, and a birthday cake that you could “slice” by clicking. Here is exactly what those searches showed and how you could trigger each one.

Formula

The calculator above is a playful way to estimate how many of your searches might have triggered an easter egg on the anniversary day. It uses a simple proportionality model:

Total easter eggs found = Number of searches × 0.4

Where:

• Number of searches (t) – how many times you searched on that day (unit: count)
• 0.4 – an assumed probability (40%) that any given search term triggered one of the known easter eggs. This is not a real statistic; it is a made-up factor for illustration.
• Total easter eggs found – the estimated count of egg interactions (unit: count)
• Share of searches with an egg – the percentage of your searches that hit an egg, always 40% under this model.

This is not an official Google metric. It exists only to show how a simple multiplication can be used to estimate a count from a probability.

Worked Example

Using the default values: you performed 25 searches on the anniversary day. With a 40% chance per search, the expected number of easter eggs you would have seen is:

1. Multiply the number of searches by the probability: 25 × 0.4 = 10
2. So the calculator shows 10 easter eggs.
3. The share is 10 / 25 = 0.4, which is 40%.

The calculator rounds the total to 0 decimal places, so it shows 10. The share is shown with 1 decimal place, so it shows 40.0%.

Background: How Google Celebrates Anniversaries

Google has a long tradition of marking its own birthday with special doodles and hidden features. The company was founded in September 1998, and since 2002 it has regularly posted an anniversary doodle on its homepage. For the 25th anniversary, the doodle was an animated birthday cake with a candle shaped like the number 25. Clicking the candle caused the cake to slice itself and a message to appear: “Happy 25th Birthday, Google!”

Beyond the homepage doodle, the search team hid several easter eggs that activated when users typed specific queries. These were not announced officially; they were discovered by users and shared on social media. The eggs were live for roughly 24 hours, from September 27 to September 28, 2023, in most regions.

The Specific Easter Eggs and How to Trigger Them

Each easter egg required a distinct search term. Here are the confirmed ones, based on user reports and archived screenshots:

• “Google in 1998” – This search returned a retro-styled results page that mimicked the original 1998 interface. The Google logo was the old serif version, the page had a simple table layout, and the results were displayed with a “Search” button that looked like a 1990s web form. Clicking any result opened the real page, but the styling remained.
• “Google birthday” – This triggered a confetti burst from the top of the browser window. The confetti fell for about 3 seconds and then disappeared. The results page itself was normal, but the confetti covered the entire viewport.
• “Google 25” – This triggered a small bouncing ball animation in the bottom-right corner of the page. The ball bounced like a classic screensaver, and if you clicked it, it would change color and bounce faster. It disappeared after about 10 seconds.
• “Happy birthday Google” – This produced a large birthday cake emoji at the top of the results page, followed by a row of confetti emojis. The cake was not clickable; it was purely decorative.
• “Google easter eggs” – This search itself triggered a small pop-up that said “You found me!” followed by a winking emoji. The pop-up could be dismissed by clicking anywhere.

These were the most widely reported. Some users also reported that searching “Google 25th anniversary” triggered the 1998 page, but that was likely a redirect to the same retro page as “Google in 1998”.

How the Easter Eggs Worked

Google uses a combination of JavaScript and CSS to inject these animations into the search results page. When a user types a query, the search front-end checks the query string against a list of known trigger phrases. If a match is found, a script loads and manipulates the DOM (Document Object Model) to add elements like confetti, a bouncing ball, or a retro style.

The retro 1998 page was the most complex. It likely used a custom stylesheet that overrode the modern layout, plus a modified logo image. The page was not a true replica of the 1998 search engine; it was a modern page styled to look old. For example, the results still had modern snippets and URLs, but the overall look was simplified.

These eggs are temporary. They are typically active only on the anniversary day and are removed within 24 hours. After that, the trigger phrases return to normal search behavior.

Common Problems and Misconceptions

One common misconception is that the easter eggs work on any device. In reality, they were primarily tested on desktop browsers. On mobile, the confetti and bouncing ball sometimes did not appear because the mobile interface uses a different rendering engine. The 1998 page did work on mobile, but it was not optimized for small screens, so the layout looked broken.

Another issue was that the easter eggs only worked in the Google Search interface, not in the Google app or on the Google homepage when you were signed out. Some users reported that signing out of their Google account made the eggs disappear, but that was likely a coincidence because the eggs were rolled out gradually over the day.

If you missed the eggs, there is no way to trigger them now. They are not accessible via URL parameters or hidden settings. The only way to see them is to wait for the next anniversary or find a video recording of the event.

Comparisons to Other Google Easter Eggs

Google has a history of easter eggs that are more permanent. For example, searching “do a barrel roll” makes the page spin, and “zerg rush” triggers a game where little circles eat your search results. These have been around for years and still work today. The 25th anniversary eggs were different in that they were time-limited and tied to a specific date.

Another difference is that the anniversary eggs were purely celebratory, while many permanent eggs are inside jokes or references to pop culture. For instance, searching “recursion” shows “Did you mean: recursion” as a joke. The anniversary eggs did not have that level of wit; they were straightforward birthday greetings.

In terms of complexity, the 1998 page was the most elaborate. It required a full visual overhaul, whereas the confetti and ball were simple CSS animations. The permanent eggs like “do a barrel roll” are also simple CSS transforms, so the 1998 page stands out as a unique one-off.

Safety and Privacy Considerations

None of the easter eggs required any special permissions or collected additional data. They were purely visual and ran entirely in your browser. There was no risk of malware or phishing, as the eggs were served from Google’s own domains. The only thing to be aware of is that the retro 1998 page looked like an old website, but it was still a genuine Google results page, so any links you clicked were real and safe.

If you are concerned about privacy, note that Google already logs your search queries regardless of easter eggs. The eggs did not add any extra tracking. You can use Google’s “My Activity” page to see what queries were logged on that day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still trigger the 25th anniversary easter eggs?

No. The easter eggs were live only on September 27, 2023. After that day, the trigger phrases returned to normal results. There is no hidden URL or code to re-enable them.

Did the easter eggs work on all browsers?

They worked on modern desktop browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. On older browsers that did not support CSS animations, the confetti and ball might not have appeared, but the 1998 page would still have loaded.

Why did the 1998 page look different from the actual 1998 Google?

The 1998 page was a modern recreation, not an exact replica. It used the old logo and basic layout, but the underlying code was current. The actual 1998 Google had no images, no tabs, and a much simpler results list.

Is there a way to see the easter eggs without waiting for the next anniversary?

No. The only way to experience them is to have been there on that day. However, you can find video recordings of the eggs on YouTube or archived screenshots on social media platforms.

Did the easter eggs affect search results quality?

No. The eggs were purely visual and did not change the ranking or content of the search results. The retro page showed the same results as a normal search, just with different styling.

Are there any permanent easter eggs that still work today?

Yes. Searching “do a barrel roll” spins the page, “zerg rush” starts a game, and “askew” tilts the page. These have been active for many years and are not tied to any date.

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in t | Number of searches | - | 25 | 0 | 1000
in d | Years since 1998 | - | 25 | 1 | 100
out total | Total easter eggs found | - | t * 0.4 | 0
out pct | Share of searches with an egg | % | (t * 0.4 / t) * 100 | 1