🌊 Google Tricks · Underwater · April Fools
Google Underwater Search
(Mr.doob or Google China?)
The homepage sinks into a blue sea. The logo and the search box bob on the surface, fish glide underneath, and when you drag your mouse through the water the ripples push everything around. It’s one of the most loved Google toys ever made.
It’s also one of the most misattributed. This guide sets the record straight, and it belongs with the rest of the physics toys in our Google gravity and underwater tricks guide.
Quick answer: Despite the name mix-ups, Google Underwater Search was a Google China April Fools’ prank from April 1, 2012, not a Mr.doob experiment, according to elgooG’s history. The homepage bobbed on water while fish and a shark swam below. Google removed it, and fan restorations now host it.
What Google Underwater Search was
The scene put the Google homepage in an animated aquatic world. The logo, search box and buttons floated at the top of the water, a shark and fish swam below, and dragging your mouse through the water made ripples that pushed the floating pieces around. Clicking I’m Feeling Lucky dropped a coin from above, and sometimes a bottle, a box or a crown sank down after it.
Search Engine Land and Search Engine Watch covered it when it launched in April 2012, describing a homepage afloat over an underwater search scene.
Who made it?
| Trick | Creator | When | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Underwater Search | Google China (April Fools prank) | April 1, 2012 | Removed; restored by fans |
| Google Gravity | Mr.doob (Ricardo Cabello) | 2009 | Chrome Experiment |
| Google Sphere | Mr.doob (Ricardo Cabello) | 2009 | Chrome Experiment |
| Google Space | Mr.doob (Ricardo Cabello) | October 2012 | Chrome Experiment |
The Google China homepage was up for just one day, April 1, 2012. A separate underwater page stayed online afterward, but it had been removed by August 2015. That’s why you can’t reach it from google.com any more.
How to play it now
The elgooG restoration rebuilds the original for modern browsers, with touch support and a dark theme. It’s a fan site and says it isn’t affiliated with Google.
- Open the elgooG Underwater Search page (elgoog.im/underwater) and press the launch button.
- Watch the logo, search box and buttons bob on the water.
- Drag or swipe across the water to make ripples and push the pieces around.
- Click the search button to add more fish, or a shark.
- Click I’m Feeling Lucky to drop coins and the odd object into the water.
The search box here is scenery. Its text is fixed, and it doesn’t accept queries or return results. For a wider list of what’s still playable, see the complete list of Google Easter eggs.
Why Underwater gets credited to Mr.doob
It’s an easy mistake. Mr.doob’s Google Gravity, Sphere and Space also float and bounce page elements, and fan sites bundle everything into one “Google tricks” menu, sometimes labeling this one “Gravity Underwater.” Mr.doob’s own experiments are Gravity, Sphere and Space, as the table above shows.
One honest caveat: we found no primary statement from Google about who built it, so the Google China attribution rests on the detailed elgooG history and the 2012 coverage. It’s the best record we have. Underwater was also one of many Google pranks, and the rest are in our Google April Fools pranks history. If you liked the sea theme, there’s more in Google zero gravity mode, the floating cousin.
Frequently asked questions
The detailed history on the elgooG restoration credits Google China’s April Fools’ Day 2012 prank. Many guides group it with Mr.doob’s experiments, but we found no source showing he made it.
Probably not. Mr.doob made Google Gravity, Sphere and Space. Underwater Search is documented as a Google China prank, though we found no primary Google statement.
No. The Google China homepage ran for one day, and the separate underwater page had been removed by August 2015. Fan restorations like elgooG host it now.
Open the elgooG Underwater Search page, drag across the water to make ripples, click the search button to add fish or a shark, and click I’m Feeling Lucky to drop coins.
In the restored version the search box is part of the scenery. Its text is fixed and it does not accept queries or return search results.
Sources checked
Facts here were checked against these sources on November 2, 2026. Gameplay and settings were not tested for this article, so try anything yourself before relying on it.
- elgooG Underwater Search page — creator, date, behavior and removal timeline.
- Search Engine Land and Search Engine Watch, April 2012 — launch coverage as cited by elgooG.
- elgooG Google Space page — the Mr.doob experiments for comparison.
Where to play it: elgooG’s Underwater Search page (a fan site, not affiliated with Google).