We're killing hours of time with Google's Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon! It must have been a slow news week at Google when they decided to come up with their latest 'Easter egg' (the name they give to the hidden tricks that they programme into their search engine), but we're sure glad they took the time to do it. Based on the classic Hollywood myth that no actor is more than six degrees of separation away from the actor Kevin Bacon, Google have now created an opportunity for everyone to quickly calculate an actor's 'Bacon Number.'
All you need to do it type the person's name into Google, followed by the phrase "bacon number" and hey presto! It is calculated! The challenge, of course, is to find an actor or actress who is more than six degrees of separation from Bacon. And that's where you'll find that your life starts slipping away from you, as "just one more search." turns into "just another search." and before you know it, it's 1am, you haven't done any of the work that you were supposed to do and you still haven't found anyone with a Bacon Number higher than5. Huffington Post insist that they have found someone that scores over 6 but they're not giving any clues away. Just one more search, then.
Other 'Easter eggs' from Google include the ability to get the screen to do a barrel roll, simply by typing "do a barrel roll" into the search bar. And to keep us all visually entertained, Google's design team frequently alter the logo, particularly on memorable days and during the Olympics, even hosted an interactive running game that you could control using your keyboard.