Jim Henson Google doodle sends up Muppets: hidden “LE” trick, no sound

September 24, 2011 by Bill Palmer

by Bill Palmer

Google continues its tradition of turning its own homepage logo into a ceremonial and often interactive “doodle” today to commemorate what would have been the seventy-fifth birthday of the late Jim Henson. The logo on google.com is represented by six of his Muppets creations whose vaguely resemble the six letters in the word “Google” and can be clicked on to create a sonic soundscape. One problem, though: when you click on the individual Muppet characters they act like they’re speaking but there’s no audio. Users around the internet have expressed surprise that the latest doodle is a silent one, with some of them mistakenly believing that it’s an issue with their browser. Google’s own Chrome web browser includes a microphone button at the right of the search box, which some users initially assumed was the mechanism for making the Muppets speak. However, the mic icon is tied into Chrome’s standard search mechanism, which is why it’s not visible when google.com is viewed on competing browsers such as Safari or Firefox; in any case, it has nothing to do with the Jim Henson doodle. Audio mishaps aside, the latest doodle pays apt tribute to Henson, who created the entire Muppet family including Kermit The Frog and Miss Piggy and also brought Sesame Street to life. The latest “Google Doodle” comes in a long line of such celebrations over the years…

Google has used its logo to mark occasions ranging from serious occasions such as the civil rights movement to whimsical ones such as the anniversary of Pac-Man. The company has faced the issue of just how many or few of it users actually end up seeing the doodle, as an increasing percentage of Google search users now use the toolbar built into their web browser as opposed to visiting google.com. They still see Google’s search results but bypass the google.com homepage – and the celebratory doodle – in the process. Still, the doodle does appear in small form at the upper left hand corner of the results page and can be clicked from there. Word also tends to spread around the internet of such doodles on the days in which they surface…

Some of the doodles never do go away. Google’s interactive Pac-Man logo, which was a fully playable game, was so popular that users were disappointed when it disappeared after a day. Google ultimately brought it back permanently at google.com/pacman. Meanwhile, users on Twitter and elsewhere continue to offer praise for today’s Jim Henson tribute doodle while voicing confusion as to why there’s no sound included. Perhaps that will change as the day goes on; as of the posting of this article, the doodle has only been live for a few hours.

Update, 6:15am PST: thanks to readers for pointing out that clicking repeatedly on the final “E” in the Google logo results in the letter “E” roaring to life and eating the letter “L” which eventually grows back. If you find other such easter eggs, share them below in the comments section. Here’s more on Google doodles.