Google’s 27th Birthday: Secrets of Google You Probably Didn’t Know

Google is celebrating its 27th birthday in September 2025. The tech giant, which began as a Stanford research project, has grown into the world’s most used search engine and one of the most valuable companies. This milestone highlights the journey and some little-known facts about Google’s rise.

The birthday is a reminder of how Google transformed the internet. Founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin on September 27, 1998, Google reshaped how people search, shop, and connect. Its 27th year comes as it faces new competition in artificial intelligence and changing online habits.

Google’s 27th Birthday: Secrets of Google’s Growth and Innovation

Google started as a small search engine called Backrub before officially becoming Google. The name came from the mathematical term “googol,” meaning a 1 followed by 100 zeros. Today, Google handles over 8.5 billion searches per day, according to industry data reported by BBC News.

Over the years, Google launched products that changed everyday life. Gmail revolutionized email when it launched in 2004 with 1GB of storage. Google Maps changed navigation forever. Android, acquired in 2005, became the world’s most popular mobile operating system. YouTube, purchased in 2006, turned Google into the leader of online video.

Experts from Reuters note that Google’s revenue now comes mainly from advertising, with billions of users relying on its search and ad network. The company’s parent, Alphabet, was created in 2015 to oversee its growing businesses, including Waymo (self-driving cars), DeepMind (AI research), and Google Cloud.

Despite its success, Google faces new challenges. Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT have changed how people find information. Regulators in the US and Europe continue to examine Google’s ad practices and market dominance. Still, its 27th birthday shows the company’s ability to evolve and remain central to the digital world.

Impact on Users and the Tech Industry

For users, Google’s birthday is more than a milestone — it’s a reminder of how far search technology has come. From basic keyword results to AI-driven answers, Google continues to redefine online discovery. Its innovations like Google Lens and Gemini AI show a push to integrate visual and conversational search.

For the industry, Google’s 27-year journey proves the power of constant reinvention. Competitors in social media, e-commerce, and AI watch Google’s every move. Its data-driven ad platform remains unmatched, but rising privacy concerns and AI disruption may shape its next chapter.

As Google marks 27 years, it reflects both its dominance and its challenges. The secrets of Google’s growth — smart innovation, strategic acquisitions, and global reach — explain why it remains the heart of the internet in 2025.

10 Surprising Secrets and Hidden Facts About Google

Here are ten interesting facts, hidden features, and pieces of trivia that shed light on the inner workings and history of the world’s most dominant search company.

1. The Original Name Was “BackRub”

Before the name Google existed, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin started their project at Stanford in 1996 under the name BackRub. The name came from the system’s ability to analyze the web’s “backlinks” (links pointing to a website) to determine that site’s importance, which was the core innovation of their original algorithm.

2. The Name “Google” is a Misspelling

The eventual name, Google, is actually a variant of the mathematical term “googol,” which represents the number one followed by 100 zeros (10100). The name was chosen to reflect the company’s mission to organize the seemingly infinite amount of information on the internet.

3. The First Server Was Housed in Lego

In the early days, Page and Brin used ten 4GB hard drives to store their massive index of the web. To build a cheap, expandable, and well-ventilated casing for these drives, they constructed the storage unit using colorful Lego bricks. This original Lego server is now a famous artifact.

4. Goats Are Used for Lawn Maintenance

Instead of using noisy, fuel-guzzling lawnmowers at the Googleplex (Google’s Mountain View headquarters), the company occasionally rents a herd of goats to clear the weeds and brush on its vast green areas. It’s a quieter, more environmentally friendly alternative.

5. Google Images Was Inspired by J. Lo’s Dress

The massive public demand for photos following Jennifer Lopez’s iconic green Versace dress moment at the 2000 Grammy Awards revealed a major gap in Google’s text-only search offering. The high volume of searches that couldn’t be fulfilled directly inspired the creation of Google Images in 2001.

6. The Longtime Motto Was “Don’t Be Evil”

For many years, the widely known, unofficial corporate code of conduct was the simple phrase, “Don’t be evil.” Following the 2015 corporate restructuring that made Google a subsidiary of the parent company Alphabet, the phrase in the official code was changed to the more actionable, “Do the right thing.”

7. Roughly 15% of Daily Searches Are Unique

The search engine processes billions of queries every day, but a surprisingly high number—estimated at around 15%—are questions or combinations of keywords that have never been searched before. This constant stream of novel queries helps Google’s algorithms continuously learn and adapt.

8. Hidden Tricks Are Called “Easter Eggs”

Google search is full of hidden interactive elements and visual tricks known as “Easter Eggs.” Examples include:

• Searching “do a barrel roll” flips the entire search results page 360 degrees.
• Searching “Askew” or “Tilt” rotates the page slightly.
• Searching “Pac-Man” or “Solitaire” allows you to play the game directly in the search results.

9. Android Versions Were Once Named After Sweets

Before the current numerical naming scheme, every major version of the Android operating system was named alphabetically after a dessert or sweet treat, such as Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat, and Lollipop.

10. The ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ Button Was Costly

The famous “I’m Feeling Lucky” button was designed to take users directly to the first search result, bypassing the traditional results page. By bypassing the search results, users also missed seeing ads, which was estimated to cost Google millions of dollars in lost ad revenue annually.