TORONTO – Those using Google to search for information about gay pride festivities around the globe are in for a colourful surprise.
During the month of June, Google is celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Pride by turning the famous Google search bar into a rainbow when users look up select pride-related search queries.
The rainbow appears when users search terms including “gay,” “lesbian,” “homosexuality,” “LGBT,” “marriage equality,” “bisexual” and “transgender.” But the rainbow box also appears when users search gay-pride celebrations like “Toronto Pride” or “New York Pride.”
The search doesn’t appear to include other Canadian pride events, however. A search for Montreal, Edmonton and Saskatoon’s pride parade did not produce the rainbow.
“Aside from Canada, this colorful enhancement to the search bar is also available when you search on Google in Brazil, US, Poland, Germany, France, Israel, Mexico and Spain,” said Google spokesperson Aaron Brindle.
According to Brindle, Google will run the feature for a just over a week, before all of the major LGBT rights events in each country.
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Most countries hold their pride events in June to coincide with the anniversary of New York’s Stonewall riots, which gave birth to the gay rights movement in 1969.
The movement holds a special place in the Internet giant’s heart, “Every year Googlers, Gayglers (gay Googlers), and their families and friends take this spirit to the streets in Pride parades and celebrations around the globe,” said Brindle.
But this isn’t the first time Google has sneaked in the rainbow – the company has been using the feature (referred to as an “Easter egg” – a nickname for a hidden message in a computer program) for the past couple of years.
In fact, Google is constantly coming up with ways of surprising their users with these Easter Eggs.
Take for example the “Do a barrel roll” Easter egg.
Users who type in a search for “Do a barrel roll” into Google search will literally see their page do a 360 degree turn. Or, type in “askew” to Google search to reveal an off-kilter page view.
“Google enjoys surprising and delighting our users,” said Brindle.
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