In a nod to all dinosaur enthusiasts, Google’s new search engine easter egg trick pays homage to the Chicxulub impact crater.
If you’re looking for a simple way to blow your friend’s minds then look no further, as we’ve tested out Google’s latest trick – a simple search engine easter egg designed for the enjoyment of all the paleontologists out there.
What is the Chicxulub impact crater?
For those unaware, the Chicxulub crater is an impact site buried under the Yucatán Peninsula in South East Mexico, having been formed over 66 million years ago.
The Chicxulub crater was first formed when the Peninsula was struck by an asteroid, said to have been as large as six miles in diameter, leaving a crater around 110 miles in diameter and some 12 miles in depth in its wake.
It is largely agreed among modern-day scientists that the Chicxulub Impact Crater formed during the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction, the event that is noted for wiping out dinosaurs, as well as most life forms that existed in that time period.
Despite its historic status as one of the earth’s most noted natural events, knowledge surrounding the Chicxulub crater was relatively scarce until fairly recently.
As per The New Yorker, it wasn’t until the late 1970s that geologist Walter Alvarez and his physicist father, Luis Alvarez, discovered that the crater was a result of an asteroid impact.
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Google’s fun Chicxulub crater easter egg
We’d be lying if we said we didn’t get a little bit too excited by Google’s Chicxulub crater trick. And, as we can see from dinosaur enthusiast Taylor McCoy’s tweet, we clearly weren’t the only ones:
If you’ve not tried it out yet though then, *warning*, spoilers ahead.
To activate the crater trick, simply head to Google and type ‘Chicxulub crater’ into the search engine, press search and Google will do the rest.
From there, you will be met with the typical search responses for the crater, but not before an asteroid flies across your screen, followed by a shake of the screen to give you the lifelike sensation of your laptop being hit!
Don’t take our word for it, try it yourself – just follow this link.
Google Earth
Google hasn’t just paid tribute to the Chicxulub crater with its search engine, but the company has also dedicated a section on Google Earth to the historic site.
Upon searching for the site on Google Erath, users will be met with a dedicated Chicxulub section that outlines the history of the sizeable Mexican impact site.
Titled The Day The Dinosaurs Died, the dedicated Google Earth page shows 17 points across the globe that were key to discovering Chicxulub, as well as linking to an informative YouTube video that quickly explains the significance of the discovery.
Describing the world in the aftermath of the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction, the site writes: “It was the beginning of the Age of Mammals… among them were early primates, whose evolution would lead in a very promising direction — at least for humans.”
More playful Google tricks you can try out
And if you enjoyed the Chicxulub trick, then there’s plenty more where that came from.
A modern-day Google classic is the Barrel Roll trick, which sees your search engine take your command a bit too literally, carrying out a neat forward roll before revealing your search results.
Of course, one can’t forget about Google Gravity. We won’t spoil this one, though we will say you may have to open up a new tab after searching for it.
And finally, if you’ve still not had your fill of Google easter eggs, then check out the Wizard of Oz trick that pays a rather touching tribute to the 1930s cinema classic.
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