The search engine continues its proud tradition of April Fools' Day jokes.
By Eric Ditzian
Topeka
Photo: Google
Early-morning Web surfers woke up Thursday (April 1) to a strange sight:
Google was no longer Google, but a multicolored search engine called Topeka. Say what?
Oh, Google, you and your Internet hoaxes! Following in a long line of elaborate pranks, Google decided that for
April Fools' Day, the company would change its name to Topeka, brand equity be damned. The purported name change followed an actual March decision from the town of Topeka, Kansas, which declared its intention to change its name to Google in a bid to become one of the cities in which the company plans to build high-speed broadband networks. On the first day of April, Google repaid the compliment.
"We've been wondering ever since how best to honor that moving gesture," the company announced on its
official blog. "Today we are pleased to announce that as of 1 a.m. (Central Daylight Time) April 1st, Google has officially changed our name to Topeka."
The hoax is merely the latest for a company that prides itself on a having a sense of humor and famously trumpeted its founding edict: "Don't be evil." For April Fools' Day 2006, the company announced the launch of
Google Romance, a send-up of online dating services. A year earlier, Google proudly
revealed its intention to sell a line of "smart drinks" to "maximize your surfing efficiency." In 2004, the search company started advertising for jobs located on the
moon.
In its most recent announcement, of course, Google gave no indication that the name change was anything less than a verified fact. The decision to switch to Topeka, it seemed, had not been made lightly.
"Google employees once known as 'Googlers' should now be referred to as either 'Topekers' or 'Topekans,' depending on the result of a board meeting that's ongoing at this hour," read the company's blog post. "Whatever the outcome, the conclusion is clear: We aren't in Google anymore."
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Why Google Is Now Topeka
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