I'm Feeling Lucky Easter Eggs on Google

Although Google feels the I'm feeling lucky button is not 'as useful', it can still be used to try some excellent 3rd party Easter eggs that are a direct result of Google bombing (remember miserable failure and the whole George Bush case?).

While I have already written about some of these, I missed some immensely popular ones. So, this is a roundup article of all those funny "first results" I did not include in the previous article. Before starting this list, I would advise you to disable Instant from your Google preferences. To get the most out of this article, go to Google's homepage, type in these phrases and hit the I'm Feeling Lucky button.

Google Loco
Type Google Loco in the Search box, hit the I'm feeling lucky button and you will be taken to a Google homepage where each letter of the Google logo will continuously dance. Also, the search button and the I'm feeling lucky lucky button are written in the incomprehensible Wingdings font. What you type in the search box also appears in the same font. Even the search box changes its colour every time you type a letter.

Google Pacman

Not a Google bomb but an immensely popular doodle which Google used on its homepage on the 30th anniversary of Pacman, the arcade game in May 2010. Just type Google Pacman in the search box, hit the I'm feeling lucky button and you will be taken to the Google Pacman page. You can use your arrow keys to start playing the game. To play in 2 player mode, hit the Insert Coin button. W, S, A and D keys will control the second player.

 Google Guitar (Les Paul Doodle)
Another very popular doodle which Google featured on its homepage to mark the 96th birthday of Les Paul. This flash and JavaScript based doodle allows users to not only play tunes by holding down the guitar and twanging its strings but also to record them. It also gives a link to share the recorded tunes with your friends. Just use the Google Guitar phrase or directly head over to Google Guitar.

Google Hacker

Ever wondered what Google would look like if it was hacked? Google Hacker can give you an idea of such a scenario. Just use the Google Hacker phrase and you will be taken to a Google homepage entirely in the leet language ( the language supposed to be used by hackers), where Normal Search is n0rM4L s34rCh, and the I'm feeling lucky button is "Eye Am ph33|1n6 |u(ky." This is an official Easter egg by one of those crazy Google engineers.

Google Weenie
Do you get angry at websites with extremely small fonts? Google weenie will definitely make you angry then. Type this phrase in the Google Search box and you will be taken to a Google homepage where everything decreases in size until it becomes a bit too small to read. This website is the exact opposite of Epic Google where everything grows in size.

Google Magic

Do you like magic? Here's a trick to impress your friends with. Type in Google Magic in the Google search box and hit the I'm feeling lucky button and you will be taken to a special Google homepage. On this page, cover the two O's in the Google Logo with your hand and click anywhere on the page. Wait for sometime (5 seconds). You can say some magic words to add effect. Remove your hand and you will be surprised to see that the two O's have disappeared. Again cover the two O's and click anywhere on the page. Again wait for 5 seconds and the O's will magically reappear. A third click however will take you to the actual Google homepage.

Search Google in different colors
Are you bored of Google's default color scheme and want to try something different? Then search Google in different colors. Just use the word Google followed by your color and hit the I'm feeling lucky button and you will be taken to a Google homepage in that paricluar color. (e.g: Google Pink, Google blue etc.)

Some more I'm feeling lucky fun
In order to allow you to fully enjoy the surprise, the following keywords haven't been provided a detailed description. Just type them in the search bar and hit the I'm feeling lucky button, or alternatively click on the first search result.

Google Flight Simulator	Google Gothic	Goglogo	Google Reverse
Google Piglatin	Google God	Ewmew Fudd	Google Bork
Pigeon Rank	Google Klingon	Google Church	The Google Book
Mental Plex	Google Gulp	Google TiSP	CADIE
gDay with MATE	Translate for Animals	Google Pond	G.C.H.E.E.S.E.
Funny Google	"Googlo"	Google Blackle	Google Variations

Google - I'm Feeling Lucky Tricks & Jokes

Google is the search engine of choice for most users. This is well represented by the fact that Google averages one billion unique visitors every month. A reason for this popularity is Google's characteristic to integrate simplicity with usability.

Another major reason for this popularity is Google's minimalistic homepage, which consists of a search bar and two buttons, Search and I'm Feeling Lucky. We all know what the search button does, it takes us to a search results page consisting of top ten results that match our query. The "I'm Feeling Lucky" button on the other hand takes you to the top ranking page in the search results for a particular query.

Some webpages use this behavior to create some amazing and funny results. Here is a list of few such keywords that have some funny websites at the first position in Google. To use these tricks, open Google's homepage, type in the phrase and hit the I'm feeling lucky button. To use the I'm feeling lucky button, you have to disable Google Instant.

Google Gravity

The force of gravity is non-existent in cyber space. Google gravity makes you realize how Google would have been if gravity had been effective on the internet as well. Just type Google gravity in the search bar and press the I'm feeling lucky button. This will take you to the Google gravity page which, at first look, might appear to be the Google homepage itself. Wait for a few seconds and you will realize why this Chrome experiment is called Google gravity. Although the website lists it as a Chrome experiment, it works on Mozilla Firefox as well, although it does not work on IE8 and previous versions of IE.

Google Sphere
Want to see images on Google dance in circular motion? Google sphere is the phrase for that. This phrase will take you to the Google sphere Chrome experiment. Google sphere is a modified version of Image search that adds a bit of fun to your regular search. This Chrome experiment, just like the previous one, works on Chrome, Firefox and IE9.

Epic Google 
Epic Google will take you to a growing version of Google that will continue to increase in size until it becomes too large to read.

Enable Pirate language in Google
Remember the Facebook Pirate language trick? Google too has their own pirate version to compete with that of Facebook's. Just use the Google Pirate phrase or directly head over to Google Pirate.

Google Rainbow
This phrase will take you to a Google search homepage in which each element changes its color rapidly to create the rainbow effect. The search result page obtained for queries is very annoying too as it contains a very loud color combination of red, blue and green.

Annoying Google
Want to get annoyed while searching on Google? This one is for you. This phrase will take you to a Google search homepage with each word having alternate capital and small letters making everything a bit too hard to read.

2204355
Are you already familiar with the age old internet prank called rick-rolling and want to discover something new? Chicken rolling is for you. Try this new way of trapping unsuspecting internet users by typing the code 2204355 in the Google search box and hitting the "Lucky button."

LOL Limewire
Type in LOL Limewire in Google and you will be taken to a .swf file claiming that you are a pirate and telling you to "do what you want cause a pirate is free." Funny!

Find Chuck Norris
This one is for all fans of Chuck Norris jokes. We all know that you don't find Chuck Norris, he finds you. The find Chuck Norris phrase proves the fact further.

Who is the cutest?
Want to know who is the cutest person in the world? Just use this phrase. This one will definitely make you smile.

Most of these websites are not owned by Google. They were created independently to achieve these effects.

Google Tricks, Easter Eggs & Secrets

Google's engineers love to hide some pretty cool tricks at the most unexpected places. Add to that Google's policy of giving 20% of working time to its engineers to do what they want, and you have a search engine filled with lots of entertaining Easter eggs and tricks.

Sadly, most of these tricks are still a secret, but every now and then, Google employees leak these cool insider pranks and the whole world gets to know about them. Here, I have created a list of all such known Google tricks and Easter eggs that are still "working."

Kerning
Kerning means adjusting the spacing between characters. So, how would you expect Google to describe it? Literally, off course. When you search Google for Kerning, the spacing of the word Kerning is changed as compared to that of other words. This only works with personalized results disabled.

Conway's Game Of Life
Conway's Game Of Life is a game that indicates how cellular life evolves based on the initial configuration. If you search Google for Conway's Game of Life, you will get a results page with the game running in the background.

Jason Isaacs
Just search for Jason Isaacs and Google will return a page saying Hello to him. This only works on Google UK. This is a reference to Kermode and Mayo's Film reviews which greets Jason with hello every week.

Bacon Number {Actor Name}
Kevin Bacon is a famous hollywood actor who was quoted as saying that he has worked with everybody in hollywood or somebody who has worked with them in 1994. This led to many websites being launched about his claim in 2007. Bacon seeing this immense response launched a charitable website called Six Degrees, which is based on a theory that everyone in hollywood has worked with Kevin Bacon through a chain of six acquaintances or less. An actor gets as many degrees as he is distant from Kevin Bacon's movies in terms of people in the chain of acquaintances.

Google too has now involved Six Degrees of Bacon in its search results. For example, searching Google for Bacon Number Johnny Depp gives Depp's Bacon number to be 2.

Google knows how to celebrate the holidays
Searching Google for a holiday will make Google return a page decorated with items representing that holiday. For example, searching Google for Christmas returns a page decorated with Christmas lights. This also works for Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Halloween and Festivus. These Easter Eggs based on a festival are only activated when that festival is near.

Zerg Rush
Search Google for Zerg Rush and you will see the O's of Google attacking the search results page. They will attacking every result one by one. There is a health bar which indicates how injured a search result is. You can also kill these O's by clicking on them. They also have health bars which indicates their health. You get points on the basis of how many O's you kill. The aim of this game is to beat as many O's as possible.

Askew or Tilt
Ever had the chance of searching Google for Askew or Tilt? If you have, then you already know what comes up. If you haven't, do it now and you will see the search results page literally tilt to give you a better idea of what these words mean. This will work only if you use latest browsers which support HTML5 and CSS3. So, Internet Explorer users, use Firefox, Google Chrome or Safari for a while to use this.

Do a barrel roll

'Do a barrel roll' in its true sense means to do a 360 degree spin. Google takes practical demonstrations way too seriously for this one and literally spins the search results page to give you a clearer idea of the meaning of this phrase. Don't believe me? Go search Google for Do a barrel roll now and see your world turn around.

This Easter egg is apparently a tribute to Star Fox, a video game series developed by Nintendo, because searching Google for Z or R Twice also does the barrel roll, just like in Star Fox. Many bloggers interpreted a lot of different things from this, but Google clarified that this fun trick was created by a Google Engineer solely for the purpose of entertaining users along with showing the power of new HTML5 and CSS3 technologies. Like the previous Easter egg, this will only work in modern browsers.

Binary, Octal and Hexadecimal Number systems
Another one of those literal Google Easter eggs. If you search Google for "Binary", "Octal" or "Hexadecimal" (without quotes) with Search Plus Your World disabled, Google will show the number of results in the same number system. For example, searching Google for hexadecimal will return the number of results like in the image below.

Recursion
The "Did you mean?" feature of Google often helps many users to get to the right results when they type something different from what they intended to search. If you search Google for recursion, the same feature takes you to an endless loop of clicks all linking to the same results page thereby completing recursion, which occurs when something calls itself. Seriously geeky.

Anagram
Another one of those "Did you mean?" Easter eggs. Search Google for Anagram and Google will instantly ask whether you meant "Nag A Ram" which is one of the anagrams of the word "anagram." Google really shows their word-playing skills with this one.

Asking Google to define Anagram makes Google ask if you meant nerd fame again.

ASCII Art
Are you a fan of ASCII art? Google surely is. Search Google for ASCII art and Google will greet you with a search results page having an ASCII version of the Google logo at the place where normal logo should have been. This Easter egg does not work anymore. When it did work, it looked like the image given below.

Google Calculator Easter Eggs: The loneliest number

Do you know which is the loneliest number? Ask Google Calculator. Search Google for the loneliest number and the in-search Google Calculator will give one as the answer, which apparently is a tribute to the Harry Nilsson's song "One."

Once in a Blue Moon

Ever wondered how much is 'once in a blue moon'? You must have heard this phrase often but Google calculator will give you the exact value of this phrase and surprisingly, it denotes frequency rather than time. Go search Google for this to get "1.16699016 × 10-8 hertz" as the answer.

The number of horns on a unicorn
Want to know the number of horns on a unicorn? Google calculator can help. Searching Google for the number of horns on a unicorn will give 1 as the answer.

Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the universe and everything

Google is omniscient. Even the "answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything" is known to Google. Just search Google for the above phrase and Google calculator will give you an answer. What are you waiting for? Just go to Google and find the true meaning of life.

[Pause to give you the time to search]

Surprised by the answer (42)? This is a reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a popular novel based on a radio show (by the same name) of the late seventies. Google engineers surprised you with these tricks, didn't they?

How to Access Blocked Websites, View Restricted Sites

Most of us find ourselves in situations where a website we wish to visit is blocked by a software or by our ISP (Internet Service Provider). So the question arises, how can we access blocked websites? The answer to this is simple: Proxy websites. Before going into details, let us know a bit about these proxy websites. 

Proxy Websites

A proxy website acts as an intermediate source between the user and server the site being contacted is hosted on. Users send requests to proxy websites which conveys them to the site's server. The reply received by the proxy website is then forwarded to the user's computer. This gives an impression to ISP's and blocking software that the user is visiting the proxy website but in reality, s/he is visiting the site which was blocked. Thus, proxy servers also provide extra security to users by hiding their online activities from their ISP's.

Commonly Blocked Web Sites

The sites which are most commonly blocked at workplaces, schools and offices include websites like Facebook, Orkut, Blogger (blogspot), Google News, Typepad, eBay, MySpace, YouTube, MSN, Yahoo! Messenger, Bebo, Google Talk, Gmail, Photobucket, AOL AIM, Flickr, Twitter etc. In some countries, social bookmarking sites like Digg and Reddit are also blocked. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, China have even blocked access to mainstream media websites like The New York times. A proxy website can be used to easily access these blocked websites. As proxy websites hide a user's location, they can also be used to access popular websites which are restricted to particular countries and block users from other countries from visiting them.

Types of Proxies

There are two types of proxies. First, there are web proxies which have an interactive interface; and second, the proxy servers which work on the basis of IP Addresses and port numbers. Proxies can also be segregated on the basis of anonymity into Anonymous, Transparent and High Anonymous depending upon the amount of privacy they provide.

How to Find Proxy Websites and Proxy Servers

A simple Google search containing the word "proxy websites" is likely to return a lot of useful results. However, most of them are likely to be lists containing proxy servers which you can setup using their IP Address and Port Number. So, in order to find interactive proxy websites, you will have to search for something like "Facebook Proxy Server" or "Orkut Proxy Server". A search like this is most likely to return interactive proxy websites with which you can access your blocked website by simply entering the URL in URL field. If you want additional security and anonymity, you can opt for a paid proxy server.

If you do not want to search, here are few popular free proxy websites you can use:-

1. http://www.hidemyass.com
2. http://www.spysurfing.com/
3. http://proxify.us/p/

How to Setup Proxy Servers using their IP Address

If you wish to visit your blocked website using a web proxy, you do not need any setup. However, if you wish to use a proxy server that can only be accessed by using its IP address and port number, you must configure your browser to use it. Follow the instructions given below to setup this type of proxy in your browser:-

Google Chrome and Internet Explorer Users

Google Chrome uses the same network settings as Internet Explorer. So, in order to configure Google Chrome to use a proxy server, you have to configure Internet Explorer. You can configure a proxy server in Internet Explorer by following the instructions given below:-

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. Click on Tools, Internet Options.
3. Click on Connections Tab, select your Network Connection and click on Settings.
4. Check on Use a Proxy Server for this Connection.
5. In the Address field, add the IP Address of your Proxy server. In the Port field, enter the Port Number.
6. Click on OK and OK again.

Mozilla Firefox Users

Mozilla Firefox users can configure their browser to use a proxy by following the instructions given below:-

1. Start Mozilla Firefox.
2. Click on Tools, Options.
3. Click on Advanced Tab.
4. Click on Network tab.
5. Click on Settings.
6. Encircle Manual Proxy Configuration.
7. Enter the IP Address and Port Number at the appropriate place. In most cases, it will be a HTTP server.  

After you have successfully configured your browser to use the proxy server, you will be able to access blocked websites whenever you browse the internet with your browser.

Ways to Unblock Restricted Websites

One way of accessing blocked websites is through the use of proxy websites. However, it is not possible to use them to unblock each web site. If the website you wish to visit falls in this category, then you must use the methods given in this article. Beforehand, I would like to make it clear that different websites are blocked differently.

So you must try all of the tricks given before reaching the conclusion that you cannot access a website. Some of the tips given in this article can also be used to prevent your surfing and IP Address from being logged. So, let us begin:-

Cache

Google and other search engines maintain a cache of web pages that are spidered by their robots and are present in their index. This cache(snapshot) of the web page is saved by Google as a back up in case the original page is unavailable. This can be accessed by clicking on the cached link besides the search results that appear for search queries. The cached version of the page might not be the latest version of the website but nonetheless, you can still use it to visit the web site of your choice. Another way to view the cached version of a web page is by using the 'cache:example.com' search query.

Internet Archive( Wayback Machine)

Internet Archive is a non-profit organization which stores websites in an archive form using which you can see how the website looked at a specific time. This is similar to a saved copy of the website on your local hard drive. Just visit Wayback Machine and enter the address of the web site you wish to visit to see if a cached copy of it is available. This archive can also be used to access websites that are suspended or down.

Translation Services

Translation Services like Google Translate and Yahoo! Babel Fish can also be used to unblock websites. Enter the URL of the website in the translation field. Select a different language than the one on the website in the "Translate From" field, and the language you read in the "Translate To" field. e.g. If the web page is in English, select an other language like Spanish in the 'Translate From' field and English in 'Translate To' field. This method can be effectively used to access restricted websites.

Changing HTTP into HTTPS

This is the fastest way to gain access to restricted websites. To use this method, just change the 'http:' in your URL to 'https:'. This can confuse the software which is blocking the site you wish to visit. Although this might not work every time, it still is a handy trick to tackle not so complex website blocks.

IP Address of the Website as Address

This is probably the most effective way to access blocked websites. To use this method, first you need to find the IP Address of the website you wish to visit. You can use the command prompt and type 'ping mydomain.com' to get the IP Address of the restricted website. Now that you have the IP address of your website, just enter it in the address bar of  your web browser and press Enter. It is highly probable that the website you wanted to visit will be unblocked.

How to Unblock Websites at School, Work, Home or Anywhere

Internet Censorship has grown drastically over the past few years with countries like China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran taking the lead over other governments in extending internet censorship to almost all sources of free unbiased information. Some schools and offices also prevent users from accessing certain websites which they believe are of no use in the respective areas. Governments sometimes enforce censorship on all forms of print and digital media like newspapers and television. China is known to have even forced Google to filter its search results. In such times, sometime you may need to access a website that is blocked. This article explains how.

Which websites are most commonly Blocked?

The most commonly blocked websites include websites about pop culture, health, medicine, women, religion and politics. Social websites that are often blocked include Blogger (Blogspot) blogs, Google News, Facebook, Orkut, MySpace, Bebo, Flickr, Hulu, LinkedIn, Yahoo! Messenger, Typepad, eBay, WikiLeaks, Digg, Reddit, Technorati, StumbleUpon, Delicious, YouTube, DMOZ etc.

Access Blocked Websites at School, Work or Anywhere

There are many genuine reasons for which you might visit blocked websites at your school or office. Given below are the many ways you can use to regain access to the blocked website you wish to visit.

1. Cache: Many search engines maintain a cache of web pages indexed by them. You can search for a website on Google , Yahoo! or Bing and click on the cached link that is given next to the result. To load the web pages more quickly, you can visit the text-only version.

2. Using Google Mobile Search: Google Mobile Search acts as a proxy which you can use easily. It removes all the CSS styling and JavaScript and presents a stripped down version of the web page to the user from it's own server. Due to this, the blocking software feels that you are visiting Google, whereas in reality, you are viewing the blocked website. It also breaks larger pages into many smaller ones. Go to Google Mobile Search.

3. To access a blocked website, you can enter the IP address instead of the URL in your browser's address bar. This can bypass most basic forms of website blocks. Although if the blocking software maps the IP address to the website domain, the website will still remain blocked. You can find the IP address of the website by pinging the website domain name in command prompt and noting its IP address. Execute ping www.tweakandtrick.com in command prompt to ping www.tweakandtrick.com.

4. Access Blocked Websites using Google Translate or Yahoo! Babelfish. You can also use translational services to get on blocked websites. To do so, enter a language different from the website in the 'From' field and English in the "To" field. You can also use this method to bypass software that block websites on the basis of specific keyword mentions. Just translate the URL you wish to visit in a different language to overcome the keyword block.

5. Proxy Websites: There are many proxy websites (anonymizers) which open blocked websites on their servers and present the data to you. This hides from the service providers the address of the website you are trying to visit. Few popular free ones include HideMyAss, Anonymouse and KProxy.

6. Use RSS Readers for Accessing Restricted Blogs: All blogs syndicate their content via RSS feeds which you can subscribe to in web based RSS Readers like Bloglines to access blocked content. For example, the RSS feed of this blog is located at http://www.tweakandtrick.com/rss.xml.

7. Use IP Address to Decimal Conversion: If you cannot access blocked websites, you can enter the decimal number of the URL's IP address to get access to restricted websites. Search Google for IP to Decimal + IP Address of the banned website and Google will convert it into decimal. Enter that into your browser's address bar and see if the blocked website opens.

8. Create a 2 layered Unblocker: Just go to Google Translate or Yahoo! Babelfish, open any proxy website inside it and then use that proxy website to access your blocked website. In this way, you can achieve two layered website unblocking.

9. TOR: TOR or The Onion Router is a free software that protects the privacy and security of its users by channeling data through multiple nodes so as to prevent the orginal data from being unscrambled. Although browsing through TOR is a bit slow, it is one of the most effective ways of bypassing restricted websites.

10. Nyud.net: To unblock blocked websites, just add nyud.net to their URL. For example, if this blog (www.tweakandtrick.com) is blocked, you can visit it by going to www.tweakandtrick.com.nyud.net.

11. Opera Mini Simulator: Opera offers a web based version of Opera Mini to allow users to get an experience of what it is like. You can use this demo version to access most websites that offer their mobile versions. Even websites that do not offer a mobile version can be viewed through this, although the quality of the results obtained may not be that good.

12. Changing DNS servers: A common way of blocking websites is preventing DNS servers from giving the locations of the blocked website's servers. In such a scenario, changing your DNS servers to OpenDNS's or Google's DNS will be your best option to get over the block. As an additional advantage, this will also increase your internet speed.

13. VPN Software: VPN or Virtual Private Network Software can be described as a tunnel under the public network that offers more anonymity than proxy websites as it also encrypts the data transferred by the blocked website thus, offering complete anonymity when you access your favorite web applications. Although most VPN software are available as paid software only, HotSpotShield is a popular free alternative.

14. IP Hiding Software: Sometimes, websites block users on a particular IP address from visiting themselves. In such cases, free IP hiding software like UltraSurf can be used to visit them. While free software offer very less features as compared to paid ones, they are still effective for overcoming most common blocks.

15. Edit your host files: Some malware and blocking software edit your host files and add a website's address to prevent you from visiting that website. In such a scenario, you can edit your host file with Notepad by visiting “C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc” if C is your system drive and remove that website. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, a warning from UAC might be displayed while editing your host files.