Google Turns 28: 10 Surprising Things You Probably Never Knew About The Search Giant

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Google is turning 28 today on September 27, 2026. While September 27 is widely recognised as Google's birthday, the company was actually incorporated on September 4, 1998. Google has traditionally marked September 27 with a birthday Doodle, making today's anniversary another chance to look back at how the search engine became part of everyday life.

Photo Credit: Image is AI-generated

You probably use Google several times a day, whether you are looking for a recipe, checking the weather, finding a place on Maps or settling an argument with a quick search. But how much do you really know about the company behind that familiar search box? Here are 10 facts worth knowing.

1. Google Was Not Always Called Google

Before Google became Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin's search project was known as BackRub. The name referred to the system's analysis of backlinks, which helped determine the importance of webpages.

2. The Name Comes From A Very Large Number

Google's name was inspired by googol, the mathematical term for 1 followed by 100 zeroes. The enormous number reflected the founders' ambition to organise a vast amount of information.

3. Google Started As A Student Research Project

Page and Brin began working on their search technology while they were graduate students at Stanford University. Their early work eventually developed into the search engine we know today.

4. Google's First Doodle Was An Out-Of-Office Message

The colourful Google Doodles we now associate with festivals, personalities and important events started rather casually. The first Doodle, in 1998, featured the Burning Man festival and served as an informal out-of-office message from the founders.

5. The Original Google Server Used Lego Bricks

Google's early hardware was far from today's massive data centres. The original server, which had 40GB of storage, was partially housed in an enclosure made from Lego bricks.

6. Google Began In A Garage

In its early days, Page and Brin worked from Susan Wojcicki's garage in Menlo Park, California. Google has preserved the story of that workspace as part of its history.

7. Doodles Have Become A Global Tradition

That first playful logo experiment eventually grew into a worldwide tradition. Google says hundreds of Doodles are launched around the world every year, with some created specifically for particular countries or regions.

8. The First Animated Doodle Arrived In 2000

It took only two years for the Doodle concept to become more interactive. Google's first animated Doodle appeared for Halloween in 2000.

9. Google's First Tweet Was Written In Binary

Google's first official tweet in 2009 was not exactly easy to read. The company posted "I'm" followed by a string of binary code, which decoded to "feeling lucky." Together, the message read "I'm feeling lucky", a reference to the familiar button on Google Search. It was a distinctly Google way to make its first appearance on Twitter.

10. Google Once Used So Much Of Stanford's Internet Bandwidth That It Had To Move

Before Google became a company, Larry Page and Sergey Brin were running their search project from Stanford University. As the search engine grew, it reportedly consumed a significant share of the university's network bandwidth. The growing demands eventually contributed to the project moving beyond Stanford and into the Menlo Park garage that became Google's first company office.

From A Simple Search Box To An Everyday Habit

Google's 28th birthday reflects how yesterday's groundbreaking innovation can become today's everyday habit. From searching a question to finding directions, checking information or discovering something completely random, "Google it" has become part of everyday language and behaviour. And after 28 years, the familiar search box continues to evolve with the way we look for answers.