Why Google Doodle is causing birthday confusion
Search engine celebrates its 18th anniversary - but has it got the wrong date?

Google is celebrating its 18th birthday with a Google Doodle today – but the animation has sparked confusion over the true date of the search engine's anniversary.
The internet giant, which was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998, has marked its birthday on the Google homepage on 27 September for several years.
However, in 2005, it celebrated the big day on 26 September – while in 2004, its sixth birthday Doodle went live on 7 September and the year before that, it appeared on 8 September, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
To further complicate matters, Google's own official history lists its incorporation date (perhaps the closest thing to a corporate birthday) as 4 September 1998.
However, the Google.com domain was first registered on 15 September 1997.
Whichever date is correct, there is no doubting the success Google has enjoyed over the years. It is one of the world's most powerful companies, second only to Apple in value, with a market capitalisation of $541bn (£417bn).
Page and Brin are now ranked 12th and 13th on Forbes's list of the richest people in the world, with a bumper net-worth of $35.2bn and $34.4bn respectively.
Google's commemorative doodle is a festive, balloon-filled affair by artist Gerben Steenks.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Harvard sues Trump over frozen grant money
Speed Read The Trump administration withheld $2.2 billion in federal grants and contracts after Harvard rejected its demands
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump tariffs place trucking industry in the crosshairs
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the White House barrels ahead with its massive tariff project, American truckers are feeling the heat from a global trade war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reports
Speed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Google ruled a monopoly over ad tech dominance
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the ruling as a 'landmark victory in the ongoing fight to stop Google from monopolizing the digital public square'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Why won't Apple make iPhones in America?
Today's Big Question Trump offers a reprieve on tariffs, for now
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Not there yet: The frustrations of the pocket AI
Feature Apple rushes to roll out its ‘Apple Intelligence’ features but fails to deliver on promises
By The Week US
-
Space-age living: The race for robot servants
Feature Meta and Apple compete to bring humanoid robots to market
By The Week US
-
Apple pledges $500B in US spending over 4 years
Speed Read This is a win for Trump, who has pushed to move manufacturing back to the US
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Is 'AI slop' breaking the internet?
In The Spotlight 'Low-quality, inauthentic, or inaccurate' content is taking over social media and distorting search engine results
By The Week UK
-
'Mind-boggling': how big a breakthrough is Google's latest quantum computing success?
Today's Big Question Questions remain over when and how quantum computing can have real-world applications
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
DOJ seeks breakup of Google, Chrome
Speed Read The Justice Department aims to force Google to sell off Chrome and make other changes to rectify its illegal search monopoly
By Peter Weber, The Week US