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Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful (Google). And what tool in your life is more useful than Google? With their relentless focus on the user and creating a phenomenal experience, Google has beaten out competitor after competitor and has an unrivaled global prevalence. Who doesn't want to know fun Google tricks and hacks to impress your friends?
Use these Google tricks to make your life easier and use other Easter eggs as party tricks.
Table of Contents
37 Google tricks and hacks to try in 2023
Cool Google hacks
- Cool Google tricks: Set a timer
- Cool Google search trick: Explore nearby
- Cool Google hacks: Find your IP address
- Cool Google search trick: Quick Convert
- Find the local time
- Cool Google tricks: Find the time in another region
- Google tricks and hacks: Easy tip calculator
- Cool Google hacks: Flip a coin
- Google tricks and hacks: Roll a die
- Cool Google search trick: Blink HTML
- Cool Google tricks: Go back in time
- Interesting Google searches: Find sunrise or sunset time
- Google tricks and hacks: Written numbers
- Interesting Google searches: Recursion
- Google tricks and hacks: Currency converter
- Cool Google search trick: Find a flight
- Google tricks and hacks: Definition of
- Google tricks and hacks: Synonym of
- Important Google search feature: Suicide help
- Interesting Google searches: Once in a blue moon
- Interesting Google searches: Google Mars
- Google tricks and hacks: Google Sky Maps
- Google fun tricks: Animal Sounds
- Interesting Google searches: Academic searches
- Fun Google searches: Pac-man google trick
- Funny Google searches tricks: Do a barrel roll google trick
- Google fun tricks: Google Tilt/Askew google trick
- Fun Google searches: Find Lyrics
- Google fun tricks: Flight simulator
- Funny Google searches tricks: Mind reading search tips (perhaps the most useless Google trick)
- Fun Google searches: Speak Klingon
- Google fun tricks: The answer to life
- Funny Google searches tricks: Horns on a unicorn
- Cool Google tricks: What is the loneliest number?
- Cool Google search trick: Mr Doob Google tricks (Google Gravity)
- Fun Google searches: Anagram
- Cool Google searches: Festivus pole
37 Google tricks and hacks to try in 2023
Whether you’re looking for fun or functionality, you’re sure to find some new Google tricks and hacks you didn’t know about in this list. Click each heading to see the trick in action.
Cool Google hacks
1. Cool Google tricks: Set a timer
Google “set timer for x amount of time” and Google pulls up a timer. Push start, and it will beep when the time runs out.
Use it to time yourself while working on a project, completing tasks around the house, or whenever you need to be mindful of the clock ticking. Since it’s easy to go down rabbit holes and get distracted online, setting a timer for your search can help you avoid getting sidetracked.
2. Cool Google search trick: Explore nearby
Every time I visit a new city, I look up a ton of restaurants ahead of time. But, when the time comes, usually I haven’t mapped out a plan in advance, so when the hunger hits, I just need to find a decent place nearby.
When you open Google Maps on your phone, there is a small bar on the bottom that you can open to see food and drink places nearby. Sort by lunch spots, coffee, cheap, etc, and see all the reviews at the same time. Also, you can quickly search on google with "restaurants near me" which will bring you the nearby local listings and the distance from you.
3. Cool Google hacks: Find your IP address
Your IP address is the address or logical location of your computer when it's connected to the Internet. Ask Google for your IP address to quickly get it in a time of need.
This can be especially useful for those who work in IT or web development, as it allows you to quickly identify and troubleshoot network issues. It's also a great way to check if a website is down or experiencing technical difficulties. It can also be helpful if you need to set up a network or configure your router.
4. Cool Google search trick: Quick Convert
To quickly convert from imperial to metric or vice versa, simply type your question into Google. Enter the unit you want to convert (for example, 10 USD to EUR or 50 kilometers to miles) into the search bar, and voila! Google will instantly display the conversion rate for you.
This feature is especially helpful for those who travel frequently or work with different units of measurement. It can also come in handy for online shopping since it allows you to quickly compare prices in different currencies. Bakers and cooks will also appreciate the ability to quickly convert recipes to the units they’re most comfortable with.
5. Find the local time
Whether you’re hopping from airport to airport or daylight savings time has you confused, this feature can come in handy. It’s as easy as Googleing “local time”.
6. Cool Google tricks: Find the time in another region
Have a business meeting with someone in another time zone and don’t want to make a blunder when scheduling a meeting? Instead of asking them what the time difference is, just type in “local time in” and the region and Google’s got your back with the intel you need.
7. Google tricks and hacks: Easy tip calculator
Google can help you with that pesky task that can leave both you and your server with an awkward tension—calculating tip percentage. Just type it in, then select the appropriate percentage value depending on your frugalness or generosity. It’s also perfect for splitting the tab between friends.
8. Cool Google hacks: Flip a coin
Looking to make a tough decision, but can't decide which way to go? Let Google flip a coin for you.
Simply type "flip a coin" into the search bar, and watch as Google does the rest. It's a quick and easy way to settle arguments or make a random choice – no IRL coin required.
9. Google tricks and hacks: Roll a die
Need more options than a coin can provide? Roll a die instead. The default is a 6-sided die, but you can choose to roll 4, 8, 10, 12, or 20-sided dies as well. Google will also keep a tally of your rolls in the bottom right-hand corner. Use it for games, bets, or whenever you want to leave things up to chance.
10. Cool Google search trick: Blink HTML
If you’ve dabbled in web development, you might be familiar with the blink HTML tag. If not, type “blink HTML” into Google’s search bar and you’ll the words “blink” and “HTML” blinking wherever they appear on the page, just as they would if this tag were applied. It may not be useful, but these little surprises sure add some unexpected delight to using Google.
11. Cool Google tricks: Go back in time
Remember the 90’s? Gas was cheap, grunge was cool, and Google looked like this. Type “Google in 1998” into the search bar and see your screen transform into the ‘98 version of the tech giant. A quarter century has passed, and their search product looks different, but interestingly not that different.
Interesting Google searches
12. Interesting Google searches: Find sunrise or sunset time
No need to open up your weather app: to quickly identify the sunrise or sunset time of whatever city you are in, simply search it and the almighty Google will tell you. This is Saskatoon on the shortest day of the year. Thankfully we are now on an upswing, so this will get earlier and earlier.
13. Google tricks and hacks: Written numbers
Type any string of digits into Google with an “=English” or "in English" to follow and Google will write the number out for you.
14. Interesting Google searches: Recursion
There are some word nerds at Google, for sure. If you type "recursion" into the search box. The search engine suggests "recursion" as an alternative. It's a never-ending loop, illustrating the meaning of the word itself.
15. Google tricks and hacks: Currency converter
The economy may be stressing us all out in 2023, but at least it’s easy to see how your currency stacks up amid the chaos. Ask Google to convert from one currency to another. You’ll also see a trendline for the timescale of your choosing, which can be handy for deciding at a glance if this seems like a good time to convert your currency.
16. Cool Google search trick: Find a flight
Google is a sorely underrated aggregator for finding flights. Just search ‘[departing city] to [destination] flights” and a list of flight options with prices will pop up. You can play around with the dates and cities to quickly find something that fits your budget. Google will suggest some top flights and can even track these flights for price changes and send an email to your inbox to notify you of the flight changes.
17. Google tricks and hacks: Definition of
Even the most well-read among us come across words we don’t understand. Simply type into Google: “definition of” and the word you want to define, and the results will bring up a featured definition snippet in Google. No more going to a dictionary website to decipher whatever you’re reading!
18. Google tricks and hacks: Synonym of
Similar to the definition hack, by typing in “synonym of” and the word you would like to get synonyms for, Google will surface a snippet with the definition and synonyms. Throw that thesaurus out the window.
19. Important Google search feature: Suicide help
One of the ten things Google knows to be true is that you can make money without doing evil (Google). From their relentless pursuit of the ultimate user experience to the results they surface, this not-so-fun Google trick shows the humanity behind the ubiquitous search engine. If you search suicide or “I want to commit suicide,” Google will surface help articles and the help number in your country.
20. Interesting Google searches: Once in a blue moon
Ever wanted to know what this expression means, exactly? Type once in a blue moon into Google and you won’t just be able to find out the origins of the expression, you’ll also see just how often a blue moon occurs.
21. Interesting Google searches: Google Mars
Leave Earth for a while by heading over to Google Mars to see a map of the red planet. If that doesn’t give you some sense of how grand our solar system is and how insignificant our life’s dilemmas are, nothing will.
22. Google tricks and hacks: Google Sky Maps
Zoom out even further with Google Sky Maps. You can stars, constellations, planets, and even galaxies.
23. Google fun tricks: Animal Sounds
Whether you’re a kid, a kid at heart, or you’re just curious about the animal kingdom, this cool Google trick enables you to hear what 19 different animals sound like. Some of these might be familiar, but I’ll bet there are some new-to-you surprising ones on the list. Give the hedgehog and Komodo dragon a spin.
24. Interesting Google searches: Academic searches
You might already be aware that if you only want to find results on a certain webpage, you can add “site:domain.com” to your search, limiting it to the domain provided. But did you know that you can use a similar trick to limit your search to educational institutions? This can come in handy if you want to find high-quality information from reputable sites that may not be particularly SEO-optimized.
Fun Google searches
25. Fun Google searches: Pac-man google trick
As if there aren’t enough ways to avoid your work, you can now add the highly addictive game of Pac-man to the list. Just type “Pacman” into the search bar and you can play the game right from the search browser.
26. Funny Google searches tricks: Do a barrel roll google trick
Type “do a barrel roll” into the search bar. Does this serve any practical function? Nope, there is absolutely no good reason to do this, but I get a kick out of it every time. It’s an amusing little way to keep the good times, well, rolling.
27. Google fun tricks: Google Tilt/Askew google trick
If you Google “askew”, Google will shift your world. This one bothers me like a crooked picture. Don’t worry, everything will go back to normal once you search for something else.
28. Fun Google searches: Find Lyrics
Have a song stuck in your head? Engaging in a friendly dispute with a coworker or loved one about what the actual lyrics of a song are? Just type “lyrics to” and the name of the song and, once again, Google has your back. Notice I typed in the lyrics and not the proper title of the song and Google still knew what I was talking about. Thanks Google. By the way, it turns out the lyrics to that Elton John song aren’t “hold me closer, Tony Danza”, after all.
29. Google fun tricks: Flight simulator
Want to try flying a plane but don’t have tens of thousands of hours and even more money? Using the desktop version of Google Earth, press ctrl+alt+A for a basic flight simulation experience. More keys and controls can be found here.
30. Funny Google searches tricks: Mind reading search tips (perhaps the most useless Google trick)
As an April fool’s joke in 2000, Google released MentalPlex, which has been kept in its original form for you to enjoy today. Simply stare into the MentalPlex circle and mentally project what you would like to see.
Can MentalPlex actually ready your mind? No, but it’s a fun, playful relic from the earlier days of the internet.
31. Fun Google searches: Speak Klingon
StarWars may be all the rage these days, but there are definitely some Star Trek purists out there. Google gives the Trekkies a knowing nod with its Klingon search option. There are also searches for Pirates and Elmer Fudd.
32. Google fun tricks: The answer to life
The only thing you didn’t think you could find on Google is here. If you search “answer to life the universe and everything” Google will tell you. Fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams knew that already, though.
33. Funny Google searches tricks: Horns on a unicorn
And I’m not talking about a startup company valued at over $1 billion (though in Canada, this is apparently called a narwhal).
34. Cool Google tricks: What is the loneliest number?
Google is a smarmy beast. Ask “what is the loneliest number” and you’ll get the answer in a calculator.
35. Cool Google search trick: Mr Doob Google tricks (Google Gravity)
Although the Mr Doob trick is not directly in google.com, it's the Google page that'll shatter down like a gravity effect. Pro tip: the buttons in the menu still work even after gravity does its thing.
36. Fun Google searches: Anagram
Here’s another fun easter egg for the word aficionados out there: when you search anagram, Google asks you if you meant nag a ram.
37. Cool Google searches: Festivus pole
Fellow Seinfeld fans, here’s a cool Google search trick for the rest of us. Search for Festivus, and you’ll be greeted with a complete overview of the holiday, including a Festivus pole running along the side of the SERP. Not bad for a made-up TV show holiday.
There you have it, every fun Google trick you could ever need, as well as some you could never possibly need or even want. With these Google hacks and tricks, you're on your way to the most fun and productive search engine usage!