10 Cool Things You Didn’t Know About Google

Are you a hardcore Google fan? Think you know all there is to know about the company, it’s practises, and products? You might want to reserve that thought until you take a look at a top ten list produced by social media tracking site Mashable. For example, did you know that it wasn’t until 2001 when the Google homepage logo was truly centered? Prior to then, it was nudged toward the left.

Or how about the fact that Google is a dog-friendly company? I admit that this factoid intrigues me, because I would never have guessed that employees would be allowed to bring their canine friends to work. But sure enough. As long as your pup doesn’t push the boundaries of peeing on the carpet, and keeps quiet during the day, Rover will be free to come along. Unfortunately, Google is strictly a “dog company”, so tigers, elephants, and of course hyenas, are not allowed. For Google, it’s doggy style or bust.

It’s common knowledge today that Google treats its employees right when it comes to good eats, and that’s something that simply hasn’t changed since the company was founded. And speaking of the beginning… the very first employees were treated to complimentary – get ready for it – Swedish Fish. Yes, the “soft & chewy” candy, appropriately shaped like fish. Today, the company has certainly expanded on its selection.

One of the more bizarre facts of all is the fact that Google rents goats. I’ll let that sink in for a second. *whistles*. Yes, Google rents goats, for the purpose of keeping the HQ’s grass free of weeds and other things. Believe it or not, it hires upwards of 200 goats to get the job done, as the company feels that they’re “a lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers.” It’s hard to disagree there.

It’s not too surprising that a company as large as Google has some interesting facts backing it up, but some of these surprised me. I am not sure how I am going to get the image of a hundred goats eating up Google’s grass out of my head, though.

A bonus factoid from Google’s IPO process is the value Google stated it hoped to raise on its S-1 form — as much as $2,718,281,828. It may just look like a string of numbers to non-mathletes, but 2,718,281,828 is actually the first ten digits of the mathematical constant ““e”,” showing that even as their company was planning to go public, the Google guys could still geek out with a bit of numerical humor.