Everybody knows about the Google Doodle – playful and creative modifications of the Google logo featured on the company’s homepage. But have you ever properly paid attention to what the Doodle of the day is?
Plenty of times, Google has celebrated diversity, multiculturalism and key events throughout history, and over the years, the daily Google Doodle has become a widely anticipated feature.
The first-ever Google Doodle appeared in 1998 when Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin used a simple stick-figure design to notify users of their attendance at the Burning Man Festival. It was a light-hearted gesture aimed at making people laugh.
However, it evolved into something far more sophisticated, and eventually, the Doodle itself turned into a very effective form of storytelling.
Over the years, Google has created thousands of Doodles to mark important dates, honour influential personalities and highlight causes. Among the many themes they explore, several Doodles have highlighted Jewish figures, holidays and cultural milestones.
Take Albert Einstein for example. In March 2003, Google celebrated the birthday of the Jewish physicist whose groundbreaking theories revolutionised our understanding of the universe, by featuring Einstein’s equation, E=mc2E=mc^2, integrated into the logo.
In 2021, Google honoured Hannah Szenes, celebrating her bravery as a resistance fighter during the Holocaust. The poet, paratrooper and World War II hero was depicted parachuting on the Doodle, symbolising her mission to save Hungarian Jews.
In 2015, Google’s homepage Doodle honoured the 101st birthday of Hollywood screen icon Hedy Lamarr – one of the most famous Jews of the 1940s. While she played some of Hollywood’s most iconic female roles from 1930 to the 1950s, including Delilah in Samson and Delilah, Lamarr famously wasn’t so impressed with her on-screen accomplishments, saying “Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid”.
As reported in Times of Israel, “during World War II, she worked with a friend on developing radio technologies that could be used by American forces to communicate despite Nazi jamming. The result was a frequency-hopping radio technology she patented that became an intrinsic feature of modern-day digital communication technologies such as Wifi and Bluetooth.”
Other notable people Google has honoured include Leonard Bernstein, Marcel Marceau and Nicholas Winton, who is often referred to as the British Oscar Schindler for his role in saving more than 600 children from German-occupied Czechoslovakia in the lead-up to World War II.
Throughout the years, just like it does for every country, Google has also honoured Yom Ha’atzmaut, using blue and white as the colour scheme and including the Israeli flag in the design.
Google has even honoured falafel, calling it “the best thing that ever happened to chickpeas”. The cartoon featured three smiling falafel balls in an open pita. As written in JTA at the time, “Google said in a statement explaining the Doodle that ‘the exact origins of this spicy street food have been lost to the mists of time,’ and that ‘falafel has been enjoyed for centuries in many different cultures’.
“It adds that ‘Israel has a song to celebrate its love affair with the tried-and-true treat, entitled And We Have Falafel.’ The song, by Dan Almagor and Moshe Wilensky, claims the fried chickpea balls as Israel’s national dish.”
In another fun acknowledgement of Jewish traditions, Google designed a Doodle for Tu B’Av – Jewish Valentine’s Day. In 2016, Google released a statement alongside the animation saying, “An ancient Jewish holiday that’s been revived in modern-day Israel (and pockets of America), Tu B’Av began as a joyous matchmaking day before falling into near-obscurity for almost 19 centuries. In recent times, it’s been reclaimed as a holiday similar to Valentine’s Day and is considered an auspicious day for weddings or marriage proposals … today’s Doodle captures the romantic spirit of Tu B’Av.”
Of course, Google has also honoured Jewish holidays and traditions throughout the years. Pesach has been celebrated with Doodles featuring imagery of matzah and seder plates. Doodles around Chanukah often include dreidels, chanukiot and Magen Davids. And Rosh Hashanah Doodles have included apples dipped in honey, pomegranates and shofars.
Google has also marked significant historical days, including Holocaust Remembrance Day.
In recent years, Google Doodles have become more interactive or include animations rather than static imagery. The thought process behind this is to increase educational opportunities. So, rather than a picture of a dreidel, the Google Doodle may, for example, showcase the dreidel spinning so people understand that it is a game.
Anne Frank’s Doodle is animated with excerpts from her diary, including illustrated pictures and photographs depicting what the Frank family were going through.
If you look at all the Google Doodles that have popped up until now, it’s easy to see how they have become not just simply a ‘doodle’ but rather a way to recognise, celebrate and educate.
Google Doodles are more than just artistic alterations of a corporate logo; they are a powerful medium for storytelling and cultural celebration.
Plus, they’re a lot of fun.
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