You can do a lot of things on Google Search but Google Search just keeps on giving. From easter eggs to handy shortcuts that give you want you want and what you need almost instantly, Google Search is becoming an indispensable tool to students, travelers, the curious and the bored.
In this post, we’re going to look at 20 useful and fun things you can do right on Google Search, things like convert units, play games, translate words, calculate and solve mathematical problems, use Google as a timer, check out a flight status in real time and more. Know of anything else one can do on Google Search itself? Let us know.
1. Play “Atari Breakout”(Google Images)
Go to Google Images, type “Atari Breakout”, hit the Search button, wait for a second for the game to start.
2. Play Pacman
Type “Pacman” and click Search. Click to start playing the game.
3. Play Zerg Rush
Type “zerg rush” and click Search in Google Search to play this cheeky game. Your page is taken over by little o’s and you have to click on them destroy them, before they destroy your search results.
4. Input Handwriting for Translation
Did you know that on Google translate, you can write input words you want to translate via handwriting? Go to Google Translator, click the pencil option at the bottom left side of the text box and write the word by hand. This is helpful when translating from character-based languages.
5. How to Pronounce Big Numbers
To have Google Search teach you how to pronounce big numbers, just type in the figure then add an equal (=) and the language you want it to be pronounced in. This works for up to 13 digits only.
6. Use It Like a Calculator
You can not only perform direct calculations e.g 5^3, 10+5, 15-8, 35*55, 100/50 in the search bar, but also can calculate the results for trigonometric functions as well.
7. Solve Geometrical Shapes
With google search you can solve for geometrical shapes such as circle, rectangle, triangle, trapezoid, ellipse etc. Type “solve” and add a shape e.g. “solve triangle”, click the search button and it will return you with a calculator to solve that shape. You can choose to solve for area, perimeter, gamma, height, side (a) or side (c). Each shape carries a different calculator.
8. Generate a Graph Right from Google Search
You can also generate a graph instantly for a mathematical function. For instance, search “graph for x^2” or “graph for tan(x)” and so on. The search results return with the graph drawn.
9. Calculate the Waiter Tip with Google Tip Calculator
If you are poor with math but not with tips, use Google’s Tip Calculator to do the math for you. Search “tip calculator” , enter your bill amount, tip % and select the number of people contributing to the bill to get how much your tip is.
10. Currency Conversion
Although currency conversions could be done via Google Currency Converter but if you want to perform currency conversion directly from Google search bar then just type the currency you want to convert from and into like this: 100 gbp to usd. The search result will return with the converted amount.
11. Conversion of Units for Different Quantities
Apart from currency you can also convert units for different quantities such as: lbs to kgs as an example. There are 9 categories you can do conversions in: temperature, length, mass, speed, volume, area, fuel consumption, time and digital storage.
12. Translation between Languages
Want quick translations of a short phrase or just a few words? Type the language you want to translate from and the language you want to translate into to turn your search bar into a temporary translator. In this example, we tried “French to English”.
13. Use Google Timer Right from Search Bar
Need a timer? Type in Google Timer and a box will pop up, allowing you to enter any amount of time, for example 45 seconds. Google Timer will start the countdown and a beeping alarm will ring once it reaches 0. Google timer can be set for full screen as well.
14. Get Sunrise & Sunset Timings in Your City
You can get sunrise and sunset timings in your city or even any other international city. Search sunrise or sunset in city_name like so: “sunrise in kuala lumpur”, or “sunset in kuala lumpur”, and the search result will return with the exact time.
15. Weather Forecast
Heading out or want to know how the weather is like in a place you are visiting soon? Check out the weather forecast by typing the city_name and adding “forecast” at the back e.g. LA forecast
16. Check Your Flight Status
A handy trick for frequent fliers. If you have someone picking you up at the airport, just give them your flight number and they can check your flight status. e.g. PK304. It will also show the terminal and gate you will arrive in.
17. Calculate Distance & Time to Reach Destination
Planning a road trip? Find out how far the trip is going to be by typing both destinations and adding “distance” at the back e.g. New York to Dallas distance.
18. Search the Release Date of Your Favorite Movie
Find out when your new favorite movie is coming to cinemas near you. Type “movie_name” and add “release date” e.g. “transporter refueled release date” to find out when it will be showing.
19. Search Books by an Author
Found a new author you like? Find all the books written by the author by typing “books by author_name” e.g. books by John Green. All books written by the author will be displayed, along with the year it was published.
20. Move Google Search
Type “do a barrel roll” or “tilt” to make it do just that.
View All Old Google Doodles
You can see all previous Google Doodles at anytime by simply going to google.com, and hitting I’m Feeling Lucky without typing anything in search box or you can just click here.
If you are craving to see how the very first version of google looks like way back when, type “google in year” e.g. “google in 1998” and hit the search button.