Happy 15th birthday Google!

It seems that anything you do online has the word Google attached to it today. Our online lives are filled with Gmail, Google Docs, Google Plus, Google Maps, Google Earth, Youtube, Piacasa, and most importantly, Google Search! So, how did Google get its name? Here is an piece from Uncle John’s Top Secret Bathroom Reader for Kids Only!

In 1998 Sergey Brin and Larry Page were looking for money to help start their company, so they boasted to investors that their new search engine could find a googol pieces of information, which is the word for the numeral “1” followed by 100 zeroes. One investor liked them, and immediately wrote a check made out to “Google.” The name stuck.

So, next time you “Google” something, remember that you could have been “Googoling” it. Hey…that kind of has a nice ring to it.

How is Google celebrating?

1. They are having a Piñata party on their home page. Head on over and take a few whacks.

2. Type “Google in 1998” and see how the search engine looked 15 years ago. (Here are a few more Google Easter Eggs).