14 DAY TRIAL // Google has been very eager to play with its logo on its homepage, having featured three different doodles in the past couple of weeks. And now Google is at it again, this time spelling its name “Googlle.” Thankfully, this isn't yet another mysterious doodle like the last three but rather something a lot more festive. The search giant is turning 11 years old this year and chose the September 27 date to celebrate.
Interestingly though, the actual date of its birthday is somewhat disputed and Google isn't even sure itself. Last year, the company actually put up its 10th birthday logo on September 2, three full weeks earlier. As far as the official dates are concerned, Google filed for the incorporation papers on September 4. Another date the company could choose is when Google.com was actually registered, on September 15, 1997, a year earlier.
Recently though, Google has chosen two dates to celebrate, either September 7, when it officially chose to mark its incorporation, or September 27. Why the 27th? The search giant isn't sure either but it's as good a date as any. In fact, Google's help pages actually read at some point: “Google opened its doors in September 1998. The exact date when we celebrate our birthday has moved around over the years, depending on when people feel like having cake.”
Google had a much bigger celebration last year, with a website specially dedicated to the occasion. At the time the company also launched the Project 10^100 to gather practical ideas from users to make for a better world. The project got delayed many months as Google hadn't anticipated the overwhelming response it got but it entered its second phase very recently.
Google has been known for its original doodle marking special events and important people. This month it had a series of three doodles to celebrate the birthday of the famous science fiction writer H.G. Wells. The series was a first for the company and the meaning behind the doodles wasn't revealed until the final one, though people figured it out some time in advance.