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Tag: Doodle

  • Antoni Gaudí Gets a Wacky Google Doodle

    Antoni Gaudí Gets a Wacky Google Doodle

    Today, Google is honoring Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, best known as the leader of the Catalan Modernism movement. He was born in Reus, in Spain’s Catalonia region in 1852.

    Today’s Doodle is pretty abstract, as some people who visit the Google homepage today are surely doing a double-take. The Doodle celebrates what would we the artist’s 161st birthday. He died in 1926 after being struck by a tram.

    Much of Gaudí’s work exists in Barcelona, including the Casa Vicens, Park Güell, Güell Pavilions, Palau Güell, Casa Calvet, Casa Batlló, and last but not least, the Sagrada Familia. He also has works in Tangier, León, and Sitges.

    Casa Milà in Barcelona

    Antoni Gaudí’s most famous work has to be the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, better known as simply the Sagrada Família, a giant Roman Catholic church in the middle of Barcelona. Gaudí worked on the church nearly his entire career, beginning in 1883. The church is actually incomplete – when Gaudí died in 1926 it was less than 1/4th finished.

    Sagrada Família was consecrated and made a minor basilica by Pope Benedict back in 2010. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of seven total designed by Gaudí.

    Sagrada Família in Barcelona

  • Summer Solstice 2013 Celebrated With Google Doodle

    Today is the Summer Solstice (or the official first day of summer) in many parts of the world, and Google is showing a doodle on its homepage in the appropriate countries to celebrate.

    The countries that are getting this doodle are: Canada, Turkey, Italy, Czech Republic, Panama, Lithuania, Costa Rica, France, Slovakia, Ireland, Venezuela, Ecuador, Macedonia [FYROM], Brunei, Israel, Singapore, Montenegro, Guatemala, China, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Puerto Rico, Germany, Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Finland, United States, Sweden, Latvia, Japan, Switzerland, Taiwan, Bulgaria, Romania, Honduras, Portugal, Estonia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Serbia, United Kingdom, Austria, Colombia, Greece, Hungary, South Korea and Cyprus.

    The doodle is animated, and shows a wave of water move from right to left as a group of children stand in the water and sort of make out the Google logo (if you squint and look really hard).

    This isn’t the only doodle Google is showing today, however. In some parts of the world, today marks the first day of winter, and Google has one for that as well. It appears, however, that Google might have made a mistake by showing this one in Australia. The first day of Winter there was June 1st. It’s more likely that Google just wanted to wait until it could show it more places, and just decided to show it everywhere (where it’s winter) at once. f

    Simon Rüger shares this video showing the the animation of both doodles:

  • Maurice Sendak Honored with Animated Google Doodle

    Today, Google lets the wild rumpus start with an animated Doodle honoring famous American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak.

    Sendak was best known for his classic 1963 children’s book Where the Wild Things Are, which has sold millions upon million of copies worldwide and has been adapted into animated shorts and a feature film. Many kids have grown up on the story of Max and his bedroom voyage to the world of the “Wild Things” over the past 50 years.

    Sendak was more than just one famous book, however. In his career, Sendak authored a couple dozen books, including 1962’s The Nutshell Library (4 books) and 1970’s In the Night Kitchen – and he illustrated countless others.

    He won the prestigious Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are and was eventually awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1996.

    Sendak died in 2012 after complications from a stroke. He was born on June 10th, 1928 – so today’s Google Doodle is celebrating what would be his 85th birthday. The lovely animated doodle spins a wheel around some of Sendak’s most beloved works.

    http://www.youtube.com/embed/UG2bVFZqPb8

  • Federico García Lorca Gets Google Homepage Doodle

    Google’s homepage in Spain is currently showing a doodle honoring Spanish poet Federico García Lorca’s 115th birthday.

    García Lorca, executed by Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, was known as a member of the Genration of ’27. In addition to poetry, he wrote a number of plays, a film script, and opera. His work also inspired a great deal of poetry, music, theater, film and television by others. His list of poetry collections is as follows (via Wikipedia):

    • Impresiones y paisajes (Impressions and Landscapes 1918)
    • Libro de poemas (Book of Poems 1921)
    • Poema del cante jondo (Poem of Deep Song; written in 1921 but not published until 1931)
    • Suites (written between 1920 and 1923, published posthumously in 1983)
    • Canciones (Songs written between 1921 and 1924, published in 1927)
    • Romancero gitano (Gypsy Ballads 1928)
    • Odes (written 1928)
    • Poeta en Nueva York (written 1930 – published posthumously in 1940, first translation into English as The Poet in New York 1940)
    • Llanto por Ignacio Sánchez Mejías (Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías 1935)
    • Seis poemas gallegos (Six Galician poems 1935)
    • Sonetos del amor oscuro (Sonnets of Dark Love 1936, not published until 1983)
    • Lament for the Death of a Bullfighter and Other Poems (1937)
    • Primeras canciones (First Songs 1936)
    • The Tamarit Divan (poems written 1931-4 and not published until after his death in a special edition of Revista Hispanica Moderna in 1940).
    • Selected Poems (1941)

    View more recent Google doodles here.

  • Here’s The Winner Of The Doodle 4 Google Contest

    On Wednesday, Google announced that Sabrina Brady of Sparta, Wisconsin has been named the national winner of its 2013 U.S. Doodle 4 Google contest. The doodle, titled, “Coming Home” will be featured on Google’s U.S. homepage on Thursday.

    Brady is a 12th grade student at Sparta High School. She will receive a $30,000 college scholarship in addition to having her doodle featured. She also gets a Chromebook, and her school gets a $50,000 technology grant.

    Google Doodle Team Lead Ryan Germick writes:

    Students across all 50 states amazed us with their creative interpretations of this year’s theme, “My Best Day Ever…” From scuba diving to dinosaurs to exploring outer space, we were wowed by the ways young artists brought their best days to life in their doodles.

    Sabrina’s doodle stood out in the crowd; it tells the story of her reunion with her father as he returned from an 18 month deployment in Iraq. Her creative use of the Google letters to illustrate this heartfelt moment clearly resonated with voters across the country and all of us at Google.

    There were 130,000 submissions to the contest. Google lists the national finalists (who will each win a $5,000 scholarship) here.

  • Saul Bass Google Doodle Hits The Rest Of The World

    As previously reported, Google has been running a Google doodle honoring Saul Bass in parts of the world where it is May 8th. The doodle has now worked its way over to our neck of the woods in the U.S.

    Saul Bass was an American graphic designer who passed away in April of 1996. May 8th is his birthday (he was born in 1920).

    Even if you have never heard of Saul Bass, it’s nearly impossible to not be familiar with at least some of his work. You can watch Google’s doodle animation, and see if anything sticks out to you.

    Bass is mostly known for designing film title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos. Some of his most famous work includes the title sequence to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, and the AT&T and Bell logos. He also designed the logos for Continental and United Airlines.

    Following is a list of his work.

    Film title sequences:

    Carmen Jones (1954)
    The Big Knife (1955)
    The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
    The Racers (1955)
    The Seven Year Itch (1955)
    The Shrike (1955)
    Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
    Storm Center (1956)
    Attack (1956)
    Edge of the City (1957)
    Saint Joan (1957)
    The Pride and the Passion (1957)
    The Young Stranger (1957)
    Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
    Cowboy (1958)
    Vertigo (1958)
    The Big Country (1958)
    Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
    North by Northwest (1959)
    Psycho (1960)
    Spartacus (1960)
    The Facts of Life (1960)
    Exodus (1960)
    Ocean’s 11 (1960)
    West Side Story (1961)
    Something Wild (1961)
    Advise and Consent (1962)
    Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
    The Victors (1963)
    Nine Hours to Rama (1963)
    It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
    The Cardinal (1963)
    In Harm’s Way (1965)
    Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)
    Grand Prix (1966)
    Not with My Wife, You Don’t! (1966)
    Seconds (1966)
    Such Good Friends (1971)
    That’s Entertainment, Part II (1976)
    Broadcast News (1987)
    Big (1988)
    The War of the Roses (1989)
    Goodfellas (1990)
    Cape Fear (1991)
    Doc Hollywood (1991)
    Mr. Saturday Night (1992)
    The Age of Innocence (1993)
    Higher Learning (1995)
    Casino (1995)

    Movie posters:

    Carmen Jones (1954)
    The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
    Edge of the City (1956)
    Storm Center (1956)
    Love in the Afternoon (1957)
    Saint Joan (1957)
    Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
    The Big Country (1958) (style b poster)
    Vertigo (1958)
    Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
    Exodus (1960)
    The Magnificent Seven (1960) (design not used)
    One, Two, Three (1961)
    Advise & Consent (1962)
    It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
    The Cardinal (1963)
    In Harm’s Way (1964)
    Bunny Lake is Missing (1965)
    The Firemen’s Ball (1967)
    The Two of Us (1967)
    Why Man Creates (1968)
    Very Happy Alexander (1969)
    Exodus (1960)
    The Magnificent Seven (1960) (design not used)
    One, Two, Three (1961)
    Advise & Consent (1962)
    It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
    The Cardinal (1963)
    In Harm’s Way (1964)
    Bunny Lake is Missing (1965)
    The Firemen’s Ball (1967)
    The Two of Us (1967)
    Why Man Creates (1968)
    Very Happy Alexander (1969)
    Such Good Friends (1971)
    Rosebud (1975)
    Brothers (1977)
    Notes on the Popular Arts (1977)
    Bass on Titles (1978)
    The Human Factor (1979)
    The Shining (1980)
    The Solar Film (1980)
    Return from the River Kwai (1989)
    Schindler’s List (1993)

    Logos and designs:

    Alcoa (1963)
    AT&T Corporation (1969 and 1983)
    Avery International (1975)
    Boys & Girls Clubs of America (1980)
    Celanese (1965)
    Continental Airlines (1968)[10]
    Dixie (1969)
    Frontier Airlines (1978)
    Fuller Paints (1962)
    Geffen Records (1980)
    General Foods (1984)
    Girl Scouts of the USA (1978)
    Japan Energy Corporation (1993)
    J. Paul Getty Trust (1993)
    Kibun Foods (1984)
    Kose Cosmetics (1991)
    Lawry’s Foods (1959)
    Minami Sports (1991)
    Minolta (1978)
    NCR Corporation (1996)
    Quaker Oats (1969)
    Rockwell International (1968)
    Security Pacific Bank (1966)
    United Airlines (1974)
    United Way (1972)
    US Postage (1983)[11]
    Warner Communications (1974)
    Wienerschnitzel (1978)
    Wesson Oil (1964)
    YWCA (1988)

  • Saul Bass Gets The Google Doodle Treatment

    Google is running a doodle celebrating the birthday of graphic designer and typographer Saul Bass in parts of the world where the date has changed to May 8th.

    Also a filmmaker, Bass is best known for his work on movie title sequences, posters and corporate logos. How many films can you pick out from Google’s animation?

    Saul Bass did title sequences for the following films:

    Carmen Jones (1954)
    The Big Knife (1955)
    The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
    The Racers (1955)
    The Seven Year Itch (1955)
    The Shrike (1955)
    Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
    Storm Center (1956)
    Attack (1956)
    Edge of the City (1957)
    Saint Joan (1957)
    The Pride and the Passion (1957)
    The Young Stranger (1957)
    Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
    Cowboy (1958)
    Vertigo (1958)
    The Big Country (1958)
    Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
    North by Northwest (1959)
    Psycho (1960)
    Spartacus (1960)
    The Facts of Life (1960)
    Exodus (1960)
    Ocean’s 11 (1960)
    West Side Story (1961)
    Something Wild (1961)
    Advise and Consent (1962)
    Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
    The Victors (1963)
    Nine Hours to Rama (1963)
    It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
    The Cardinal (1963)
    In Harm’s Way (1965)
    Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)
    Grand Prix (1966)
    Not with My Wife, You Don’t! (1966)
    Seconds (1966)
    Such Good Friends (1971)
    That’s Entertainment, Part II (1976)
    Broadcast News (1987)
    Big (1988)
    The War of the Roses (1989)
    Goodfellas (1990)
    Cape Fear (1991)
    Doc Hollywood (1991)
    Mr. Saturday Night (1992)
    The Age of Innocence (1993)
    Higher Learning (1995)
    Casino (1995)

    He did movie posters for:

    Carmen Jones (1954)
    The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
    Edge of the City (1956)
    Storm Center (1956)
    Love in the Afternoon (1957)
    Saint Joan (1957)
    Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
    The Big Country (1958) (style b poster)
    Vertigo (1958)
    Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
    Exodus (1960)
    The Magnificent Seven (1960) (design not used)
    One, Two, Three (1961)
    Advise & Consent (1962)
    It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
    The Cardinal (1963)
    In Harm’s Way (1964)
    Bunny Lake is Missing (1965)
    The Firemen’s Ball (1967)
    The Two of Us (1967)
    Why Man Creates (1968)
    Very Happy Alexander (1969)
    Exodus (1960)
    The Magnificent Seven (1960) (design not used)
    One, Two, Three (1961)
    Advise & Consent (1962)
    It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
    The Cardinal (1963)
    In Harm’s Way (1964)
    Bunny Lake is Missing (1965)
    The Firemen’s Ball (1967)
    The Two of Us (1967)
    Why Man Creates (1968)
    Very Happy Alexander (1969)
    Such Good Friends (1971)
    Rosebud (1975)
    Brothers (1977)
    Notes on the Popular Arts (1977)
    Bass on Titles (1978)
    The Human Factor (1979)
    The Shining (1980)
    The Solar Film (1980)
    Return from the River Kwai (1989)
    Schindler’s List (1993)

    Saul Bass The Shining poster

    Bass also did logos and designs for:

    Alcoa (1963)
    AT&T Corporation (1969 and 1983)
    Avery International (1975)
    Boys & Girls Clubs of America (1980)
    Celanese (1965)
    Continental Airlines (1968)[10]
    Dixie (1969)
    Frontier Airlines (1978)
    Fuller Paints (1962)
    Geffen Records (1980)
    General Foods (1984)
    Girl Scouts of the USA (1978)
    Japan Energy Corporation (1993)
    J. Paul Getty Trust (1993)
    Kibun Foods (1984)
    Kose Cosmetics (1991)
    Lawry’s Foods (1959)
    Minami Sports (1991)
    Minolta (1978)
    NCR Corporation (1996)
    Quaker Oats (1969)
    Rockwell International (1968)
    Security Pacific Bank (1966)
    United Airlines (1974)
    United Way (1972)
    US Postage (1983)[11]
    Warner Communications (1974)
    Wienerschnitzel (1978)
    Wesson Oil (1964)
    YWCA (1988)

    Hat tip to Patrick from DoodleShow, Lists from Wikipedia

  • Google Celebrates Labour Day With Homepage Doodle

    Google is celebrating Labour Day with a homepage doodle in countries where the day is celebrated on May 1. This includes a number of countries across Europe and Asia.

    Many of these countries, including India, China, Nepal, and Pakistan consider the 1st of May a public holiday. Most offices, banks, schools, etc. remain closed.

    Here in the U.S., Labor Day is not celebrated until September. It will be interesting to see if Google reuses this doodle when the time comes in a few months.

    Wikipedia has a great breakdown of when Labor Day is celebrated in different countries around the world.

    France gets a different doodle today for Fête du Travail:

    Here’s a look at the doodles Google ran around the world last week.

  • St. George’s Day 2013 Celebrated With Google Doodle

    Google is celebrating St. George’s Day 2013 in the UK with a doodle on its homepage.

    The day represents the feast day of Saint George, and is celebrated by Christian churches in several countries, though the doodle appears to be unique to Google’s UK site.

    Wikipedia provides a little more background on the day:

    As Easter often falls close to Saint George’s Day, the church celebration of the feast may be moved from 23 April. In England, where it is the National Saint’s Day, for 2011 and 2014 the Anglican and Catholic calendars celebrate Saint George’s Day on the first Monday after Easter Week (2 May and 28 April, respectively). Similarly, the Eastern Orthodox celebration of the feast moves accordingly to the first Monday after Easter or, as it is sometimes called, to the Monday of Bright Week.

    The doodle itself is interesting, showing St. George protecting a princess from a dragon. Here’s an oil painting called “Saint George and the Dragon” (via Wikimedia commons) depicting a similar scene:

    St. George's Day 2013

    More recent Google Doodles here.

  • Earth Day 2013 Celebrated with Interactive Google Doodle

    For Earth Day 2013, Google is celebrating with an interactive doodle that lets you experience much of what nature has to offer – in animated form, of course. Google’s Earth Day doodle lets you change the seasons, weather, moon, and more.

    “Today we are celebrating Earth Day with an interactive doodle that captures a slice of nature’s subtle wonders. We hope you enjoy discovering animals, controlling the weather, and observing the seasons. Use the sightseeing checklist below to make sure you do not miss anything!” says Doodler Leon Hong.

    Indeed, Google has provided a Doodle checklist. So, click around and have fun.

    Earth Day, as we know it, is celebrated on April 22nd. Back in 1969, the first Earth Day was proposed at a UNESCO conference in San Francisco to be celebrated on March 21st. A month or so later, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson held an additional Earth Day on April 22nd, as an environmental teach-in. In 1990, the April celebration went international, and it is currently celebrated in nearly 200 countries worldwide.

    Last year, Google’s Earth Day doodle was also animated, though not quite interactive. The doodle was a time lapse photo of flowers blooming and eventually forming the Google logo.

  • Chavela Vargas Honored With Google Doodle

    Google is celebrating the birthday of Costa Rican-born Mexican singer Chavela Vargas with a doodle on its homepage in Mexico.

    She was apparently known best for her rendition of Mexican rancheras.

    Here’s a look at Google’s knowledge panel for Vargas:

    Chavela Vargas

    Here, you can see a performance:

  • India’s First Passenger Train Journey Celebrated With Google Doodle

    Google is running a doodle on its homepage in India today, celebrating the 160th anniversary of India’s first passenger train journey.

    On April 16, 1853, the first passenger train service went between bori Bunder in Mumbai and Thane, covering a distance of 24 kilometers (21 miles), hauled by three locomotives, Sahib, Sindh, and Sultan, according to T. Stanley Babu’s “A shining testimony of progress” (as cited on Wikipedia).

    According to the article, “This was soon followed by opening of the first passenger railway line in North India between Allahabad and Kanpur on March 3, 1859.”

    On Monday, Google ran a worldwide doodle honoring mathematics pioneer Leonhard Euler.

  • Leonhard Euler, Mathematics Pioneer, Honored with Google Doodle

    Today, Google is honoring Leonhard Euler, the Swiss mathematician known for his prolific works in many mathematical fields, including calculus and many areas of physics.

    Euler is known for introducing most modern mathematical terminology and notation.

    Euler was born on April 15th, 1707 in Basel, Switzerland to a pastor and a pastor’s daughter. In his early life, Euler studied under famed mathematician Johann Bernoulli and entered the University of Basel at the age of 13. He received his Master of Philosophy just three years later after a dissertation on Descartes and Newton.

    He spent most of his adult life in St. Petersburg, Russia and in Berlin, Prussia. In St. Petersburg, Euler served a position in the Imperial Russian Academy of Sciences’ mathematics department. He stayed in St. Petersburg from 1727 to 1741, when he left for Berlin to take up a post offered by Frederick the Great of Prussia. There is where Euler published his most important work: The Introductio in analysin infinitorum (1748), which was about mathematical functions, and the Institutiones calculi differentialis (1755) on differential calculus.

    Euler is considered the most important mathematician of his era and one of the most important mathematicians of all time. He worked in nearly every field of mathematics, including algebra, geometry, calculus,and number theory. He also worked in some areas of physics.

    Euler is the only man to have two mathematical numbers named after him. “Euler’s Number” in calculus (e), and the Euler-Mascheroni Constant (γ).

    Euler was also known for his work in fluid dynamics, mechanics, and astronomy, one of the most prolific mathematicians of all time, Euler’s collected works fill dozens of volumes.

  • Maria Sibylla Merian Google Doodle Comes To The U.S.

    Maria Sibylla Merian Google Doodle Comes To The U.S.

    As previously reported, Google began showing a doodle in honor of naturalist and illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian in parts of the world where it was already April 2nd. Now that the date has changed in the rest of the world, including here in the U.S., the doodle has made it to a larger audience, putting Google in the spotlight once again after its day of April Fools’ jokes.

    The doodle celebrates Merian’s birthday, as she was born on April 2nd, 1647 in Frankfurt, Germany. She died on January 13, 1717 in Amsterdam.

    Here’s what Google’s Knowledge Graph result looks like for Merian:

    Maria Sibylla Merian

    Merian published three collections of engravings of plants before turning her studies to insects. According to Wikipedia’s history of her, she kept her own live specimens, and illustrated the metamorphosis stage in various species. As the article points out, this was at a time when insects were largely thought of as “beasts of the devil”.

    If you click over to Google’s Image results, you can peruse a plethora of Merian’s beautiful illustrations.

  • Maria Sibylla Merian Celebrated with Google Doodle

    On April 2nd, Google is celebrating naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian with a beautiful Doodle featuring various forms of small wildlife – butterflies, caterpillars, a lizard, and more.

    German-born Maria Sibylla Merian is known for both her plant and animal illustrations. As a botanic artist, Merian published three collections of plant engraving from 1675 to 1680. Shortly after that, Merian began to study insects. She is famous for her metamorphosis depictions where all stages of the insect’s life were depicted on the same page.

    Closely studying insects wasn’t too common in her time, and her depictions of metamorphosis lead some to categorize her as an important figure in entomology.

    In her time, Merian chronicled the metamorphosis of nearly 200 different species.

    This painting, showing the metamorphosis of Thysania agrippina, was completed in 1705:

    Merian also drew other creatures such as snakes, iguanas, spiders, and frogs – and these drawings are still highly collectible.

    She died in 1717 after suffering a stroke a couple of years earlier. Erucarum Ortus Alimentum et Paradoxa Metamorphosis, a collection of her work, was published later by her daughter. Today’s Google Doodle celebrates her 366th birthday.

  • Douglas Adams Honored with Interactive Google Doodle

    Douglas Adams Honored with Interactive Google Doodle

    Today, Google is honoring English author Douglas Adams with a fun little interactive Doodle.

    Adams began his writing career in the mid 1970s and soon got a break writing for Monty Python. Soon after this small job, Adams was forced to take on odd jobs as his writing career stalled. In the late 70s, Adams worked in radio and even became a producer for the BBC. He also worked writing for the TV series Doctor Who.

    But of course, Adams is best-known for his breakthrough 1979 novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which actually started out as a radio comedy series. Hitchhiker’s Guide served as the first book in a “trilogy” that consisted of five novels, the last being published in 1992.

    The Hitchhiker’s “trilogy” has sold over 15 million copies.

    Adams is also know for the novels Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective AgencyThe Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.

    Adams died of a heart attack on May 11, 2001 at the age of 49. Today’s Google Doodle honors what would have been Adams’ 61st birthday.

    Fans of Adams’ work will be able to spot plenty of references inside today’s interactive Doodle.

    Check out the video below for a look at the different animations in today’s Doodle.

  • Nicolaus Copernicus Google Doodle Comes To The Rest Of The World

    As previously reported, Google was running a Google doodle on its home pages around the world as it became February 19th. Now it’s February 19th here in the U.S. and other countries on this side of the globe, and the doodle has come along with the date change. It celebrates Nicolaus Copernicus, the famous mathematician and astronomer from Poland who, during the Renaissance, came up with the heliocentric model, which placed the sun (as opposed to the Earth) at the center of the universe.

    Here’s a video showing the doodle’s animation, courtesy of Simon Rüger:

    If you click the doodle, you’ll get to search results for “Nicolaus Copernicus”. Of course, Google’s Knowledge Graph results are on display, as they often are for the subjects of Google’s doodles these days. Here’s what the panel for Copernicus looks like:

    Nicolaus Copernicus

    Note that people who search for Copernicus also search for Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton, and Ptolemy.

    Yesterday, Google ran a doodle celebrating the 812th birthday of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi in the following countries: Bahrain, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Qatar, Morocco, Jordan, Tunisia, Oman, Iraq and Kuwait.

    More recent Google doodles here.

  • Anne-Cath. Vestly Honored With Google Doodle

    Google is honoring Norwegian children’s literature author Anne-Cath. Vestly with a doodle in Norway. This would have been her 93rd birthday. She passed away in 2008 at the age of 88.

    She won numerous awards, and her most famous work was Eight Children and a Truck (Åtte små, to store og en lastebil in Norwegian). It is about a family with eight children living in a small Oslo apartment. It was the first in a series of nine books known as the “Eight Children” series. Her first book, Ole Aleksander Filibom-bom-bom, also became a series of 12 books.

    Other doodles Google has run this week include George Ferris (for Valentine’s Day), Carnaval (in Brazil) and Feodor Chaliapin in Russia. Apparently there was briefly a doodle about Asteroid 2012 DA14 today, but Google removed it after the Meteor explosion in Russia.

    See more recent Google doodles here.

  • Google Briefly Ran an Asteroid-Themed Doodle but Quickly Pulled It After the Events in Russia

    Today, in celebration of asteroid 2012 DA14’s near miss of Earth, Google planned to run a new Doodle on its homepage. In fact, they did run it for a short time. But if you visit the Google homepage right now you won’t see any asteroid-related Doodle.

    That’s because Google removed it.

    And yes, it’s for the reason you suspect. Google took down the animated Doodle out of respect for those injured in Russia by that huge meteor shower. Reports indicate that over 500 people were injured as a result of the shower – most from broken glass and other parts of structures ripped apart by the meteorites. Google confirmed this to ABC News:

    Out of respect for those injured in the extraordinary meteor shower in Russia earlier today, we have removed today’s doodle from the Google homepage. The doodle was created to mark Asteroid 2012 DA14 passing Earth.

    So, here’s the Doodle you weren’t supposed to see. It will live on forever here.

    [via SearchEngineLand]

  • Like Google’s Doodles? Watch This Hangout With The Doodlers

    The hangout features some Google doodlers, including Ryan Germick, who leads the Google Doodles team, as well as a judge from Doodle for Google contest, a member of Google Education team, and some Google-certified educators.

    Google is running a popular doodle today for Valentine’s Day. It also happens to honor the birthday of George Ferris, the creator of the Ferris Wheel. It’s a good example of a doodle that works at multiple levels. Not only is it Ferris’ birthday, but the Ferris Wheel happens to symbolize love and dating, as it is a popular ride for lovers.

    Interested in learning about the process behind this particular doodle? Read this explanation from the doodlers about how it was created.

  • George Ferris Google Doodle Comes To The Rest Of The World

    Google is celebrating Valentine’s Day with a Google Doodle honoring George Ferris, the creator of the original Ferris Wheel (and the source of its name). As previously reported, the doodle hit the other side of the world as it became February 14th over there, and has been rolling out to the rest of the world with the date change. Now we’re getting it here in the U.S.

    This particular doodle is pretty smart in that it works on a couple of different levels. Not only is the Ferris Wheel often associated with dating (which fits in with the Valentine’s Day theme), but it is also George Ferris’ 154th birthday.

    Google doodler Brian Kaas shares some background on the doodle here. “Romance and amusement parks often go hand in hand,” he says. “In many places a carnival, fair or circus is a popular destination for a thrilling and action-packed date. Coincidentally, George W.G. Ferris Jr., the creator of the Ferris Wheel was born on Valentine’s Day in 1859. This year seemed like a golden opportunity to combine our celebration of love with the birthday of the engineer whose mechanical invention has filled so many hearts with wonder.”

    “Early in the process we decided on depicting a scene with two, side-by-side Ferris Wheels among a landscape of other amusement park rides,” he adds. “Then when two Ferris Wheel carts happened to stop across from each other we thought that was the perfect moment for two characters to have a love at first sight moment. We thought this would be the best way to highlight the Ferris Wheel in its natural habitat and provide a clever way to introduce some valentines to each other. Plus, we thought it would be fun to push a big button to generate a whole series of combinations.”

    You should check out the the full explanation of the doodle if you get a chance. It provides some good insight into the doodle-making process.

    Ferris himself was born in Galesburg in 1859, attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and died in Pittsburgh in 1896. He was only 37 years old. His original Ferris Wheel was created for the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition.

    Today’s doodle is one of Google’s many interactive ones, and clicking the heart button will bring up different animal matches, followed by quick little picture stories showing these animals going out on various dates.

    Here’s a video showing the doodle’s animation and the animal dating match-ups, courtesy of Simon Rüger:

    Here’s a look at the full cast of animal characters from the doodle:

    George Ferris doodle animal cast

    When you click the search icon on the doodle, it takes you to results for “George Ferris,” and highlights Google’s Knowledge Graph panel, showing information about him. According to the Knowledge Graph, people who search for George Ferris also search for Washington Roebling, H.H. Holmes, LaMarcus Adna Thompson, and Daniel Burnham. If you’re not looking for this particular George Ferris, the Knowledge Graph also gives you the option of seeing results for George Ferris the Cricketer (one of the most helpful features of the Knowledge Graph, which Google launched last year).

    Yesterday, Google ran a doodle in Russia celebrating the life of Russian opera singer Feodor Chaliapin.

    Check out some more of Google’s recent home page doodles here. If you’re not monitoring Google’s many international homepages, you might have missed some.