Google's 10 Lamest April Fools' Day Pranks

By now we're sure you've peeped Google's latest April Fools' Day hoax: Google Racing, a partnership with NASCAR. We admit, it's pretty clever. The idea of Google building a race car based on its autonomous driving technology isn't too far-fetched and is actually pretty interesting. As are a lot of other Google April Fools' Day Pranks, like the Google Translate for Animals prank it did in 2010. But for every one the search giant gets right, there are a number of them that failed harder than its Wave service. Check out Google's 10 Lamest April Fools' Day Pranks and see for youself.

Year: 2009

As the last announcement made at Google's Data Center Efficiency Summit in 2009, Senior VP of Operations, Urs Hoelzle, informed attendees that the company had purchased an oil tanker: the M/S Sergey. Obviously a pun on Google co-founder Sergey Brin, this ship was to serve as a data center building that featured an oil-based cooling system. Get it? Google was launching an OIL-BASED cooling system at its EFFICIENCY SUMMIT! HAHA! Nevermind.

Year: 2009

Google's new Mobile App feature could purportedly read your brainwaves and index brain content to "make it searchable" for users. The app instructed users to place their smartphone on their foreheads, think of a query, and click the "Try Now" option, which would bring up a "Brain indexing" status page and "search me" button that redirected them to fake search results. Lame! Google can't really read your mind...*puts on foil hat*.

Year: 2008

Those who created an event on Google Calendar discovered a new "Feeling Lucky" option, which supposedly set users up on a date with any of the following celebrities: Jessica Alba, Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Anna Kournika, Matt Damon, George Bush, and even animated characters Eric Cartman and Lois Griffin. Seriously.

Year: 2010

Google Docs' latest upgrade would give people the opportunity to store physical objects on the data storage service, with the ability to search for items using CTRL-F or send by uploading/download it. All at the low price of $0.10 per kg. Google also planned on integrating its Street View technology and a mail courier network with its fictional service, sending a messenger within three hours to pick-up anything stored in your account. We pity the fool who actually tried to use Google as a storage service.

Year: 2008

Prank: This calendar notification feature was advertised as a new provision to help people get their asses out of bed. Besides sending annoying SMS message alerts to your smartphone, this Google kit also came with a bed-flipping contraption and a water bucket that connected to your water main. Wake us up when Google starts drawing dong pics on friends passed out on your couch.

Year: 2008

According to Google, if you placed your nose close to your computer screen and clicked an on-screen "Go" button, its online library would "load odors" that you could smell. Seriously. Anyone who clicked the button, failed to smell anything, and felt confused probably went to the "Help" section, which redirected them to a page that described the origins of April Fools' Day. Yeah, we smelled something. Bullshit.

Year: 2010

Playing off of Topeka, Kansas' attempt to earn a spot in the company's new fiber-optics project, Google left millions confused when it renamed its web page for April Fools'. Google also changed its headquarters' sign to the Kansas city moniker just to play along with the high jink. In the end, this one left everyone more confused than amused.

Year: 2010

Google's software editing framework was set to feature a new Wave Notifications system that notified users of a new Google Wave update by having actual people wave at them in real time. You could choose from four different human notifiers, including Ashton Kutcher, Dr. Wave, Grandma, Werner Heisenberg. And even a puppy. The Google Wave blog also informed readers that the system continued to experience issues and that "Genuine greetings may be confused for notifications." The bigger joke was Goolge trying to tell us that people actually use Wave.

Year: 2005

These low-carb "smart drinks" promoted the company's new Auto-Drink technology, which sent "electrolytic neurotransmitter smart-drug stimulants" to the cerebral cortex, increasing user intelligence and Google search efficiency. It was also advertised in four tasteless flavors: Beta Carroty, Glutamate Grape, Sugar-Free Radical, and Sero-Tonic Water. Try again, G. But...uh...what's good with that Glutamate Grape, though?

Year: 2008

Google's unpoular social networking site fooled millions of worldwide users by changing its name to Yogurt. Yeah... that was it. Looks like Google just said, fuck it, we got more important things to do, like actually build a good social networking site. Zing!