Googol

• The name "Google" came from either a misspelling or a clever play on words, depending on whom you believe. The Google Press Center says that founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin chose the name as a reference to "googol," a term for the number created by adding 100 zeros after the number 1. However, other sources, including The New York Daily News, report that adding an "e" to the end of the word was a mistake.
  
  

Lego Storage

• Since the founders of Google were creating their new search engine as a research project, they didn't have the funds for fancy equipment. The first storage devices for Google's now-massive website caching capabilities were 10 individual 4GB external hard drives. Creators Page and Brin built a miniature storage rack out of Legos to hold the drives, says Mashable. Visitors to the Google headquarters can view the original storage, including the brightly colored Lego-block rack. Google now uses secret server banks that are located around the country to take advantage of inexpensive electricity.
  
  

Bare Pages

• Google's homepage is still known for its spartan design, while other major websites progressively became more cluttered. The original page had only a basic logo and an empty search box, says TechFlaps, with not even a submit button. Early user testing found visitors waiting for the rest of the page to load long after it was complete due to the empty look. The copyright information that now ends the homepage was tacked on to make it obvious when the page was fully loaded. The creators didn't know much HTML, so they weren't tempted to add extra graphics or other distractions.
  
  

Goats

• The Google headquarters, located in Mountain View, California, has a number of interesting and amusing oddities, including a policy allowing workers to bring in pet dogs. One of the funniest facts about the headquarters involves a herd of 200 goats. The company hires a herder from the California Grazing Company to keep the brush and grass around the building short without creating more air pollution, according to Mashable. Goats provide environmentally friendly landscape maintenance and help to create a quirky, bucolic atmosphere.