In the end, all you need is a big pot of paint, a large roof, and some willing hands. When scanned into a smart phone, the code loads (FB Code) into the browser, which for now just shows a 'coming soon' icon but could potentially be a place for all sorts of Internet tomfoolery.Ī truly audacious hack from the big G's rival for dominance on the online display ad market, it won't be long before the giant interactive barcode makes its way onto Google Maps, possibly paving the way for the service to be overrun with similarly scan-able free pieces of promotion. Snigger.Ī notorious prank played on the mighty Google in 2012 came courtesy of pretenders to the throne in the online world, Facebook, whose employees painted an enormous 42-foot-square QR code on the roof of their new Silicon Valley HQ. Here, then, are the 10 most outrageous pranks played on Google to date. Whether played for comedic or political purposes, or for the sake of anarchy pure and simple, these pranks clearly show that the world at large can play the team from Mountain View, CA at their own game. However smart it may be, though, at times even the king of tricksters that is Google can get caught out.

A 2012 list that includes Google Maps 're-launched' with retro Nintendo 8-bit graphics, a 'click-to-teleport' extension on Google Chrome, and the Really Advanced Search showed that the Internet monolith hasn't lost any of its nous in the viral marketing department.

They've been playing them since the start of our young century, and this year's offerings didn't disappoint. Their April Fools' Day japes and jokes are deservedly recognized for their humor and intelligence, for one.

When it comes to pranks - as when it comes to pretty much everything else in the virtual world and beyond - Google are in a league of their own.

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