The Flashy “500” Chrome Experiment Contains All 499 That Came Before It

Chrome Experiments isn't so much about Chrome or "experiments with Chrome" as the name would suggest, as it is about experiments with web technologies. It's designed to showcase what the modern web can do, powered of course by Chrome.

It's been around for three years now and it went from 19 demos and experiments when it launched to 500 at this point.

Which Google figured was a good cause for celebration. And what better way to celebrate 500 Chrome experiments than with another experiment. Better yet, this experiment actually includes (well, links to) all the 499 that came before it.

"Some of those original experiments, like Google Gravity and Ball Pool, are still popular today," Google wrote. 

"But we’re pleased to say that they’ve since been joined by hundreds of other contributions from around that world that have pushed the web even further," it said.

The "500" experiment is nothing fancy, not by Chrome Experiments standards, it uses HTML5 Canvas for the graphics and, thankfully, it works well in Firefox and probably in any other HTML5-compliant browser. That's the way it should be, of course, with web standards, but it doesn't always happen.

"As you browse the experiments, you’ll notice that Chrome Experiments has evolved along with the web in the last 3.5 years," Google's Aaron Koblin and Valdean Klump, from the Creative Lab responsible for Chrome Experiments, wrote.

"After Google Chrome added support for WebGL, for example, we started seeing beautiful 3D graphics experiments like Evan Wallace’s WebGL Water Simulation and HelloEnjoy’s Lights," they highlighted some of the notable experiments.

"When Web Audio came out, we received experiments that let users compose music together, such as Brandon Lockaby’s Multiplayer Piano and Dinahmoe’s Plink," they added.

If you're curious to see what your browser and HTML5 + JavaScript can do you can check out some of the experiments, starting with this celebratory one. The site works with mobile browsers too, but you'll need Chrome to make the most of it.