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13 candles mark Google’s teen angst

Google got its start in 1998. Do you remember life before Googling?

 

Jordan Valinsky

Internet Culture

Posted on Sep 27, 2011   Updated on Jun 3, 2021, 2:34 am CDT

If you go to Google.com today and smell burnt candles, there is a good reason for that: The search engine is celebrating its 13th birthday today!

The information-organizing engineers of Mountain View, Calif., have been saving your butt, finding you images, and possibly encroaching on your privacy since 1998. Although Google’s exact date of birth is debatable (several dates in September could mark the occasion), Google has picked September 27, and an excuse to eat cake is good enough for us.

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*First Published: Sep 27, 2011, 3:12 pm CDT