Grab the little metal pull and drag it down
There’s a zip running down the centre of the page. Teeth on both sides, a chunky slider sitting at the top, and a search box behind it that has no idea what’s about to happen. Take hold of the pull and drag.
The page splits. Not instantly, and not evenly, because the opening widens as you go, so the top gapes while the bottom is still stitched shut. Underneath there’s a second layer in colours the front page would never use.
- Drag slowly and the teeth separate one pair at a time with a small offset, which is the detail that sells it.
- Let go halfway and it stays where you left it. Nothing snaps back on its own.
- Drag upward from a half-open position and it re-meshes, top to bottom.
the yank
Third button. The pull travels the full height in about a second and the flaps swing wide, which looks less like unzipping and more like tearing. Fun once, then you’ll go back to doing it by hand.
what’s behind the page
A block of colour, a logo that leans at a slightly wrong angle, and six tiles with the names people actually type when they’re looking for this. It’s a punchline layer rather than a functional one, and it’s meant to be seen in slices as the zip opens.
on phones
Touch dragging works the same way. The pull is deliberately oversized so it’s grabbable with a thumb, which is not how a real zip behaves but is how a usable one has to.
other hands-on tricks
Most easter eggs run on their own once you press go. The few you actually operate are worth seeking out. google guitar turns the logo into six strings and hands you the keyboard. google fan puts a desk fan on the page and lets you aim it.
For the ones that just happen to you, google gravity collapses the interface into a pile you can then throw around, and let it snow google frosts the glass until you wipe it clear with the cursor.
Doodle-era company: google pac-man came from the same run of playable logos and is still the most complete of them.