35 Things More Fun To Do Today Than Health Care Reform
Need a distraction to take your mind off the mayhem of Health Care Reform?
Have a little fun on us…courtesy of Google
35 THINGS MORE FUN TO DO TODAY THAN HEALTH CARE REFORM
Article brought to you by Saxon Financial Consulting
It seems that the changing landscape of Health Care Reform is never ending. Just when we think we have it all figured out we are dealt another change, shift, slide or bump.
Considering the punch that compliance fines will pack if you aren't in line with what you need to have done by the 2014 and 2015 deadlines, the topic of Health Care Reform & PPACA in general has been on everyone’s mind…. Relentlessly. With the small reprieve the government just passed down for employers, we thought we would share some fun for a change!
All kidding aside, we all know how important it is to stay updated on Health Care Reform and we don’t want you to worry or stress about trying to keep up with it all! We make it easy for you with our HCR Milestone Manager tool. The updates are free and straight from the experts. The updates are written in a way that is organized, actionable and simply makes sense! Get the bottom line on HCR delivered straight to your inbox by signing up today!
35 FUN GOOGLE SECRETS, PRANKS, TEASERS AND TRICKS
Google has long been known for its whimsical nature, and over the years has brought us engaging and thought provoking art simply by visiting the home search page of the industry giant. However, the fun doesn’t start there and, unless you start letting a bit of geek bleed through, you may not know about many of the secret surprises Google has built in for a daily amusement!
Whether it’s a short-lived ‘Let It Snow’ to bring the outdoors in, April Fool’s Day fun or hidden Easter Eggs (not the kind the bunny brings, but rather that of code which is a trigger to make hidden things happen by using a certain combination of keystrokes or actions) Google has never let us down.
So here is a list for you with links to see for yourself that is aimed to distract, detain, entertain and ultimately put a smile on your face when you least expect it! By the way, when your boss taps you on the shoulder and tells you to get back to work – blame it on Google, not this article!
Let’s have some fun!
1. Search Term: Askew (Careful, watching may cause the desire to lean)
2. Go to Google Homepage, Type in Chuck Norris and click I’m Feeling Lucky button
(depending on your search settings, this button will appear under the search bar, OR as you type a drop down list with suggestions will appear one of which will be something like Chuck Norris google. If you mouse over that the I’m Feeling Lucky links shows up to the right and you can click there).
3. Search Term: Google Gravity - In the same way as # 3 (using I’m feeling lucky)
4. See a bunch of the fun archived Google search pages here: https://elgoog.im including Mirror google, a personal favorite Terminal Google, Underwater Google (always the kids favorite), Musical Google (can you play the Harry Potter tune?), I See You Google, Google Snakes and Google PacMan
5. Search Term: recursion
(If you look too hard you might miss the laugh… Be sure to catch the Did You Mean: at the top of the search results.)
6. Gaze into the April Fool’s mentalplex by clicking https://www.google.com/mentalplex/
(Don’t miss the comedy within the page by clicking on the FAQ and illustrations links in the page)
7. Search Term: Google Pacman Doodle
(My personal favorite way to lose minutes and hours of productivity – Don’t forget to insert coin!)
8. Search Term: the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything
(Think Hitchhiker’ Guide to the Galaxy)
9. Search Term: the loneliest number
(I said search – don’t sing)
10. Search Term: once in a blue moon
(this can be quantified, apparently)
11. Search Term: Atari Breakout then click Images
(or just search Google Images from the get-go)
12. Search Term: define anagram (check out the Did you mean: at top of search results)
13. Search term: do a barrel roll (and hang on!!!)
14. Search term: zerg rush (you better hurry up and find what you are looking for!)
15. Search term: bacon number *enter famous actor/actress name here*, ex. Bacon Number Kevin Bacon will return a result of “0” (think Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon…)
16. Using Google Voice (click microphone on search bar) and say: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood
17. Using Google Maps search Legoland California, Legoland Drive, Carlsbad, CA, then zoom in and drag the Peg man onto the location (watch the Peg man change!)
18. Using Google Maps search Half Moon Island, Antarctica then drag peg man to blue location on island (watch the Peg man change)
19. Click here to search in the foreign languages of
Elmer Fudd: https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-elmer,
a Pirate https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-elmer,
Pig Latin https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-piglatin,
Klingon https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-klingon,
and a Hacker https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-hacker
20. If one sets the iGoogle theme to the "Beach" option, then at 3:14 am every morning, the Loch Ness Monster surfaces for 1-minute, then at 3:15 dives back under. The reason for the timing of 3:14 is rumored to be a tribute to the number pi. Additional 3:14 eggs include the "Seasonal Scape" showing off the Northern Lights, the "City Scape" with UFOs, the "Spring Scape" with a monster, the "Sweet Dreams" with the stars aligning to the shape of the symbol pi, and the "Tea House" that has spirits in the mist.
21. Get all the secrets behind Google’s search results with Pigeon Rank: https://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html
22. Drink the Google juice at Google Gulp https://www.google.com/googlegulp/
23. Check out Google’s prank on online dating services: Google Romance https://www.google.com/romance/ (by all means don’t forget the Tour, PR and FAQ!)
24. A little sarcasm goes a long way: Check out these links for Google Paper from 2007 –
Paper Index https://mail.google.com/mail/help/paper/index.html,
Announcement of Service https://mail.google.com/mail/help/paper/more.html,
Policies https://mail.google.com/mail/help/paper/policies.html
25. How’s your internet service in the toilet? Google provides a service for that… TiSP (Toilet Internet Service Provider) - Be sure to click around on all the different links – this one is loaded with laughs! https://www.google.com/tisp/
26. A going green ‘press release’ from Google Talk: https://googletalk.blogspot.com/2008/03/google-talk-goes-green.html
27. In coordination with Virgin Group – Google launched efforts to start a permanent human settlement on Mars:
Press release https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/announcing-project-virgle.html,
More about the project https://www.google.com/virgle/index.html,
Application page https://www.google.com/virgle/application.html,
and of course the ever famous FAQ https://www.google.com/virgle/faq.html
28. Google’s innovative take on Australian Football: https://www.google.com.au/intl/en/gball/
29. Explore Google earth’s 3D showcase: https://www.google.com/earth/explore/showcase/ (not just fun, but really cool actually)
30. Google voice’s STANDARD Voicemail mode: https://www.google.com/googlevoice/standard_voicemail.html (feeling a little nostalgic?)
31. Travelling with your pet and need to ensure translation is possible for them? Introducing Google Translate for Animals: https://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/landing/translateforanimals/
32. Announcement of Treasure Hunt on Google Maps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qFFHC0eIUc
33. Google Nose: Adding Smell to your Search: https://www.google.com/landing/nose/
34. The launch of Gmail Blue: https://mail.google.com/mail/help/intl/en/promos/blue/index.html
35. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST: Here is an oldie but a goody blog post from Mashable that catalogs some of the infamously, hilarious ‘fake (or are they)’ product release videos: https://mashable.com/2011/04/01/april-fools/
Whew! Tired yet?
Seriously…. If you reached the bottom of this list you should REALLY go back to getting some work done! Be sure to share this fun list with friends and family – guaranteed Kid Approved!! We know we missed a few, but hopefully captured most of the best from the Google archive of fun and ensured you weren't thinking about what is going on with Health Care Reform for at least a little while.
Don’t forget, if you want to easily stay up-to-date with all the latest Health Care Reform news, updates and more, sign up for the HCR Milestone Manager tool. The updates are free and straight from the experts, and written in a way that is organized, actionable and simply makes sense! Get the bottom line on HCR delivered straight to your inbox by signing up today!
