h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's been an interesting few days for Google Doodles. Sunday was Earth Day, yesterday was St. George's day (although clicking on the doodle gave information on the ZX Spectrum, for some reason). Today the doodle celebrates the birth of Gideon Sundback, the man who invented the zipper. IMO, you can forget 'the best thing since sliced bread', the zipper is a far better invention.

>>IMO, you can forget 'the best thing since sliced bread', the zipper is a far better invention.

I agree, and a bit of investigation shows that we have been influenced by an old advert:

Sliced bread is a loaf of bread which has been pre-sliced and packaged for convenience. It was first sold in 1928, advertised as "the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped."[1] This led to the popular phrase, "the greatest thing since sliced bread".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sliced_bread

"clicking on the doodle gave information on the ZX Spectrum, for some reason"

Because it was exactly thirty years since the launch of the ZX Spectrum, and this was a globally significant event. Computer games today are massive multi-million dollar franchises, the most successful of which are far more profitable than any Hollywood movie. A disproportionate number of the movers and shakers in that industry, and a disproportionate amount of successful product, comes from the UK, and the ZX Spectrum is a large part of the reason for that. Quite a few of those now at the top of the industry got their start coding games in their bedrooms and selling them on cassette tapes (remember them?) for five pounds or so.

>>cassette tapes (remember them?)

I remember spending about half an hour loading games, then sometimes having to do it all again because it didn't work first time.

The St. George/ZX Spectrum doodle didn't run on .com, but I checked it out anyway.

I got started on a Tandy/RadioShack TRS-80 Color Computer (it had exactly 8 colors but you could only see 4 at any one time). It also featured a cassette recorder for storage. Ah, I remember the frustration when someone would lose or throw away my list of counter numbers indicating where each program started on the cassette. .


(YKK]

I find the eye-level zipper image quite offensive.
Reminded me of a Rolling Stones' album cover.

When I moved my cursor it began to un-zip and
I fully expected it to reveal Mick Jagger in a way
I would rather not experience or even imagine.

And I'm a big Rolling Stones fan.

~jwf~

It's a jacket zipper.

Go project your fantasies someplace else, Squiggles!

can't say that I was offended, but it was a jacket zipper?

Yep. Specifically a jacket with the Google logo embroidered across the chest.


(YKK]

How do you get to the main Google page to see it? It keeps taking me to iGoogle, I logged out, but I still can't find how to get there.

What is iGoogle?

I can only suggest typing in the URL directly.

(YKK][]]unununununununununu

>> It's a jacket zipper. <<

Eek! Dave Bowie's hairless chest!
I'm torn to think which would be worse.


~jwf~

I just ended up going to a different browser. I liked the zipper though!

>>Yep. Specifically a jacket with the Google logo embroidered across the chest.

How do you know it wasn't trousers with the Google logo embroidered across the crotch?

Simple. The zippers on trousers have an overlapping flap of material. Also, who in the hell would be wearing white trousers this time of year?


(YKK][]]unununununununununununununununununununununununununununununuunun

I bow to your expertise on trouser zips.

Why is it all these years on, zips still get caught in the cloth of the garment? Shouldn't they have sorted that out by now?

Probably a fundamental constant of the Universe.

Q/h±mc^2=YKK

t.