The latest Google doodle aims to stimulate the imagination as Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (free Google books download) did for many. In a post, Google Doodler Jennifer Hom recounts how the book sent her imagination into hyper drive.
Today’s doodle, celebrating Verne’s 183rd birthday, tries to capture that sense of adventure and exploration. Using CSS3 (and with help from our resident tech wizards Marcin Wichary and Kris Hom), the doodle enables anyone to navigate the Nautilus down (nearly) 20,000 leagues with the simple pull of a lever. And for those using devices with built-in accelerometers and the latest versions of Google Chrome or Firefox, it’s even simpler—just tilt your device in the direction you want to explore and the Nautilus will follow.
The Google logo now looks like a collection of portholes or a window looking out into the deep of the ocean. The lever to the right allows you to navigate up, down, and tilt right or left. This exposes more of the surrounding scenery and wild life. It would be awesome if this worked on my Android smartphone as it would be interesting to see how this plays with the accelerometer. As you navigate the murky deep, be sure to keep an eye out for giant squid.