Google Underwater Search
Quick Facts
- Summary
- Sink the Google homepage into the sea, where the logo bobs on the water and fish swim past.
- Creator
- Launched
- 2012-04-01
- Status
- Restored
(Discontinued by Google)
Try the Easter Egg
The Original Easter Egg
How It Started
Google China introduced Underwater Search for April Fools’ Day 2012. It placed the homepage in an animated aquatic scene, with interface elements floating on the water and fish below.
What It Did
The logo, the search box, and the buttons floated at the top of the water while fish and a shark swam underneath. Dragging your mouse through the water made gentle ripples that pushed the floating pieces around.
Clicking “I'm Feeling Lucky” dropped a coin from above, and sometimes a bottle, a box, or a crown sank down after it.
Impact and Reach
Search Engine Land and Search Engine Watch covered the prank when it launched in April 2012, describing a Google homepage afloat above an underwater search scene.
Its Discontinuation
The Google China April Fools’ homepage appeared for just one day, April 1, 2012. The separate underwater page remained online afterward but had been removed by August 2015.
The Restored Experience
What’s Different Here
The original aquatic scene returns with fish and a shark beneath the floating homepage. Dragging through the water still makes ripples that move the pieces around.
This restoration supports touchscreens and adds a dark theme. It also gives the search button a new role: adding more fish or a shark to the scene.
The Easter Egg Experience
Click the button above to open the restored scene. Drag across the water and watch the ripples push the floating homepage around.
How to Try It
- Click the button above to open the restored underwater homepage.
- Watch the Google logo, search box, and buttons bob on the water.
- Drag through the water to make ripples and push the floating pieces around.
- Click the search button to send more fish, or a shark, into the water.
- Click “I'm Feeling Lucky” to drop coins and occasional objects into the water.
The search box is part of the scenery: its text is fixed, and it does not accept queries or return search results.
Final Thoughts
A few ripples are enough to set the familiar homepage drifting above the fish.
Try the Easter Egg
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What was Google Underwater Search?
Google Underwater Search was a Google China April Fools’ Day 2012 Easter egg. It turned the Google homepage into an underwater scene where the logo, search box, and buttons floated while fish and a shark passed below.
How do I play with the restored underwater page?
Click the button above to open the restored scene. The pieces of the homepage settle into the water, and fish start swimming through the blue background.
Drag or swipe across the water to make ripples. The floating logo, search box, and buttons bob around as if they were floating in a calm pool.
Click the search button to add fish or a shark. “I'm Feeling Lucky” drops coins and occasional objects into the water. The search box does not accept queries.