This Is How Google Should Actually Be Used

Googly Eyes

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There are a load of random things you can do with your google homepage, one of which that might entertain your children (or you if you're a little childish is by typing in 'Googly Eyes' and hitting search. Your google logo will gain a set of googly eyes in between the 'O's'. The more you know eh?

You Can Play Board Games

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I'm not saying you can play monopoly via google (although you most probably can) but you can find some equipment to play your board games with if need be. By typing in 'roll dice' in to google you can actually be presented with 6 dice on your screen to play with. Could come in handy!

Are You A Friends Fan?

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People keep finding these little easter eggs on google, this one is based on the popular 90's and early 00's TV show, Friends. If you type in Friends characters then you'll see each of the characters appear. A little symbol appears with each one. Try Ross a few times an you'll get a pivot surprise.

Old Time DVD

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If you're looking for a little bit of nostalgia then you can try another one of Google's little easter eggs. This time type 'DVD screensaver' in to your search bar and you'll be met with the famous moving DVD logo. You know the one, where the logo comes really close to hitting the corner but never doing it.

Barrel Roll?

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If you type Barrel Roll in to your google search bar then your entire browser window will do a full 360 degree spin; the same thing will also happen if you type 'zz' or 'rr'. This is a reference to a barrel role and its controls from the old Nintendo video game Star Fox, you might remember?

It Can Read An Image

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Have you ever had that moment where you can picture something but don't actually have the words to describe it? Well if you do actually have an image you can reverse search an image and it'll show you other images similar to the one you uploaded. Quite useful when you think about it.

Zerg Game

Image Source: Reader's Digest

This one is another nod to an old and famous video game, this time the StarCraft series. If you decide to google 'zerg rush' you'll be transported in to the game again. This time the o's in google transform in to 'zerglings' trying to eat search results. You have to destroy them!

It Can Change Languages

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In order to make google a universally used tool, they obviously made it adaptable to all languages. At the top of the homepage there's a place to change languages where you'll also find fictional languages like Klingon, Pirate, Elmer Fudd and Muppets. If you can understand it that is.

It's An Arcade

Image Source: Readers Digest

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man, google made an in browser version of the game in 2010. The game played exactly how you would remember it, although in this case, the map for the game was shaped in the letters of the word Google. Another bit of nostalgia for you to enjoy.

It Can Help Your Research

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Google has become an extremely useful tool when it comes to writing academic work, and you can actually use it to your advantage. By typing 'site.edu' alongside your query you'll only receive results from academic institutions. You can also use this same trick for your favourite sites.

It Can Remove Stuff For You

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If you come across a website that actually contains some personal information, or it might raise some form of issue for you then you can actually request google to remove the page. This only works for google sites though, so you'll need to get in touch with the other search engines or site master to fully remove it.

It Can Tell You The Meaning Of Life

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If you request google to answer the 'answer to life, the universe, and everything' question it will come up with a calculator and the answer '42'. This is a reference to the Douglas Adams novel, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; which was the original claim to the answer being 42.

The Loneliest Number

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Google apparently likes to communicate with numbers on a calcuator; if you search the loneliest number it'll come up with the number one. Just like the famous song says, one is the loneliest number that you'll ever do. None of us want to be that lonely one.

It Can Get Confusing

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The phrase once in a blue moon might seem quite vague to you, but if you google it, it'll come up with an exact frequency; 1.1669916 x 10-8 hertz. When calculated this equals the 2.71 which is the amount of years between each blue moon. You'd think once in a blue moon would mean more than that?

It Tries To Help You

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Not much is more frustrating than when you're trying to peruse the internet and 'unable to connect' appears on the screen. Fortunately, google understands this and if you hit your space bar a dinosaur will jump in to action and launch a simple jumping platform game like Mario!

You Can Go Back In Time

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Some of you reading this might not be aware of how google once used to look, especially before the turn of the century. If you search 'google in 1998' your browser will transform and you'll be thrust back in to the 90's, just the way it used to look like back in the day. You might make yourself feel old though.

Breakout

Image Source: Readers Digest

Yet another video game nostalgia trip you can go on via the google search bar is by searching 'Atari Breakout'. Obviously this is a nod to the actual Atari game in which you shoot bricks from above you in order to try and break them. Did you ever own an Atari and play this? Or was it before your time?

You Can Set Timers

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This one's a little more basic, but it might come in handy for you, instead of using a stopwatch or your phone you can actually set a timer via the google search bar. Just request it set a timer for x amount of time and you'll be able to practice your presentations or time your cooking.

It Can Convert For You

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If you've been given a measurement of weight or distance you don't fully understand yourself, then you can use google to convert them for you. This can be great for converting measurements from the UK form to the US or simply greater understanding your own height in comparison to other things.

It Can Tell You Your IP

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Although this isn't something you're likely to ever need yourself, google has the ability to pull up the IP address of your device in just seconds. All an IP address is, is a string of numbers that's unique to your device and can also be identified to bring up where it is you are located.

It'll Work Out Your Tip

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For those of you who struggle with the maths of leaving tips at a restaurant, google can help you with that. You can ask google 'what is the tip for x amount' and it'll work it out for you. Don't worry though, you can determine how much of a tip your waiter deserves and it'll adapt for you.

Heads Or Tails?

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Sometimes the only way to win an argument is by settling it the good old fashioned way; by using a virtual online coin that you can't actually touch but flips on a browser on your computer screen. Not quite, but yes google can flip a coin for you if you don't have a real one to hand.

Sun Times?

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If you want to know what time you're going to be blinded by sunlight in the morning or what time the daylight is going to cease you can use google to find out. Yep, Google is able let you know what time the sun will rise and the sun will set in any country or city in the entire world.

Currency Conversion

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Not only can google be used to convert weights and distances, it can also quickly work out how currency can convert from one to another. If you're deciding to book a holiday then you'll be able to quickly work out how much you'll need to take with you when you're abroad; it'll also help you when you're there.

It Can Tell You The Bacon Number

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The belief is, that every actor, or person that has appeared on TV have less than seven degrees of seperation between themselves and famous actor Kevin Bacon. In fact its become somewhat of a challenge to find more actors who have a high bacon number so why don't you have a go.

It Knows Song Lyrics

           

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We've all had that moment where we've got a song stuck in our heads but can't quite remember the next lyric or maybe even the name of the entire song itself. If you type song lyrics in to google then the rest of the songs lyrics should appear in your results. Where has this been all our lives.

It Can Find You Dinner

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Sometimes we want to go out for food but we just can't decide on a suitable location to spend our money and indulge in some great food. You probably know this one already but by searching restaurants near me, google will come up with local places to you and even give you a star rating based off reviews.

It Can Find You A Flight

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Not only can Google find you any flights to any location, but it can also help you book them ASAP. By searching for flights from blank to blank, google will come up with a number of options for flights via different companies. It also shows you the price differences between each company.

Animal Sounds

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If you've got a young child and you're trying to teach them about animals then you can simply search what noise animals make and it'll give you the chance to listen to each animals individual sounds. This won't work for obscure animals like red pandas but for the basic farmyard animals it can be great.

Tic Tac Toe

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If you're really bored and your friends are just too busy for you then you can try your hand at a game of tic tac toe against the Google AI. You can also play against a friend online (although that probably won't be quite as challenging). Get your practice in and you'll never lose again.