Experience Google Wizard of Oz Easter Egg
Quick Facts
- Summary
- Click Dorothy’s ruby slippers to spin your search results into black and white, then click the tornado to bring the colors back.
- Creator
- Launched
- 2019-08-23
- Status
- Restored
(Discontinued by Google)
Try the Easter Egg
The Original Easter Egg
How It Started
Google launched the Wizard of Oz Easter egg in August 2019 for the movie’s 80th anniversary. When you searched for “Wizard of Oz”, a sparkling pair of ruby slippers appeared in the Knowledge Panel, the information box beside the results.
What It Did
Clicking the slippers started the tornado. The page spun around, sounds from the movie played, and everything turned the brownish sepia color of Kansas. Then a tornado icon took the slippers’ place, so you could spin the page back into full color.
Impact and Reach
The film moves between sepia-toned Kansas and colorful Oz, and Google carried that contrast onto the results page. Dorothy’s slippers started the trip into sepia; the tornado icon brought the color back.
Its Discontinuation
The official Google Search effect lasted about a year, and it was removed around late 2020.
The Restored Experience
What’s Different Here
The slippers still send the page spinning as the movie sounds play, and the tornado brings the color back. Here, the results turn black and white rather than the original’s brownish sepia.
The Easter Egg Experience
Click the button above, then select the ruby slippers beside the film’s name in the Knowledge Panel. As sounds from the movie play, the results spin into black and white. Once the turn finishes, click the tornado icon that replaces the slippers to bring the page back to full color.
How to Try It
- Click the button above to open the restored search results.
- Click the sparkling ruby slippers beside the film’s name.
- Watch the results spin into black and white as the movie audio plays.
- When the page stops turning, click the tornado icon to bring the color back.
The page’s two color states echo sepia-toned Kansas and colorful Oz in the film. The slippers take you toward Kansas; the tornado reverses the journey.
Final Thoughts
The tornado brings the colors back and leaves the ruby slippers waiting beside the film’s name: a little round trip between everyday search results and Dorothy’s world.
Try the Easter Egg
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the Google Wizard of Oz Easter egg?
Google’s Wizard of Oz Easter egg was hidden in Search to celebrate the movie. When you searched for “Wizard of Oz”, a sparkling pair of ruby slippers appeared in the Knowledge Panel.
Clicking them sent the page spinning into sepia-toned Kansas, with sounds from the movie playing as it turned. A tornado icon then replaced the slippers; clicking it brought the page back to full color.
Google launched it in 2019 for the film’s 80th anniversary. The original promo later disappeared, and this page brings the sequence back.
How do I open and replay the Wizard of Oz Easter egg here?
Click the button above to open the restored search results, then click the sparkling ruby slippers beside the film’s name. The results spin into black and white as the sound plays. Once the turn finishes, click the tornado icon to bring the color back. The slippers then reappear, ready to start the sequence again.
