Google search is brilliant as it is, but did you know there are loads of secret search hacks that will make your life easier? There are even some hidden games for you to try out.
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1. Roll a die
If you've lost a die then don't worry, Google have got your back! Enter 'roll a die' into the search bar and let Google do it for you.
2. Find flight details
There's no point in wasting all that time heading to an airline website. Type your '[flight number] + [airline]' into the Google search bar for departure time, arrival time, terminal and gate number. Great stuff.
3. Learn a fun fact
Type 'Fun fact' or 'I'm feeling curious' into the Google search bar and you can learn an interesting fact. This is a fun thing to do when you're at a loose end on the internet.
4. Reverse image search
Did you know you can search by image? This will allow you to find related images and other sizes of the image that you looked for. There are lots of different ways to reverse image search, you can drag and drop an image into the search box, search using the image URL or upload an image from your computer.
5. Find more books from your favourite author
Fancy finding more books written by an author you've just discovered? Type in 'Books by [author name]' to get a big list. You can then arrange this list by 'Most popular first', 'Newest first' or 'oldest first'.
6. Play PAC-MAN
Photo credit: Mário Tomé
Search for 'Pac-man' and you'll be shown the PAC-MAN Doodle created for the Google homepage on the 21st May 2010. Click to play and have lots of fun!
7. Let me Google that for you
This is a slightly different / funny search hack - if you know someone who keeps asking you to look up something on the web, then visit Lmgtfy.com. Enter in whatever it is they wanted you to search for, hit 'Google Search' and then share the link you've been given with them. They will then be able to see how easy it would be for them to search for it themselves!
8. Find out what day it is
Ask Google 'What day is it in 100 days?' and you will return the correct day. I'm not sure how useful this is, but worth knowing anyway!
9. Use the calculator
Save time on working out a sum (or hunting for the calculator on your computer) and type the question directly into your search bar. As you can imagine it's super quick to do! You can even type in 'What's the square root of 453' and the answer will appear.
10. Find a film
As long as you're logged in and Google knows your location, you can quickly find our what's on at the flicks right now. Type 'What films are playing tonight' to find out the options on offer at cinemas near you.
11. Sunrise, sunset
Want to know quickly when the sun is setting and rising in your local area? If you're already logged into Google then your location is already set, so type 'Sunset' into the search bar to find out the exact time the sun will go down where you are.
12. Find a restaurant
Enter 'Restaurants near me' to discover... restaurants near you. They will also include any opening time and appear on a map. Helpful!
13. Find your IP Address
Enter 'IP Address' into the search bar to quickly find... your public IP address.
14. Convert currency
There are two ways to convert currency using Google search. Firstly you can type the question into the search bar, for example '600 pounds to dollars' and this will bring up answer straight away. The second option is to type 'Currency converter' into the search bar where you can select the two currencies you wish to compare using the drop-down menu. Easy!
15. Track your packages
Logged into your Gmail account and waiting for a package that you've had an order confirmation for? You can track your packages by typing 'Where's my package?' into the search bar.
16. Discover airline journey details
Type in 'Flight [destination 1] to [destination 2]' and Google will tell you how many flights per day there are, what airlines fly it, the days of the week they fly on and the duration of the flight. This is so useful when planning a holiday - give it a go today.
17. Define a word
Type 'Define + [word]' into the search bar and Google with give you a definition and you can even listen to a word to hear how it is pronounced. Upon clicking the big arrow below you can learn about the word origin and translations.
18. Locate past hotel stays
Have you booked past hotel visits using your Gmail account? Google search 'My hotels' to pull up all your past hotel reservations. This is a useful hack for when you're trying to recommend a past holiday to a friend and you can't remember where you stayed.
19. Do a barrel roll
This hidden feature can be found by typing 'Do a Barel Roll' into the Google search bar. Give it a go!
20. Find the missing words
If you've forgotten a word then let google fill in the blanks. For example, if you were looking for HBO's popular TV show but couldn't quite remember what it was called, type 'Game of *' into the search bar and Google will let you know that you were in fact, thinking of 'Game of Thrones'.
21. Convert temperature
Photo credit: CipherN
Cooking a recipe and need to convert the temperature between Celsius and Fahrenheit? Let Google search do that for you. For example, type in '180 Fahrenheit to Celcius' to reveal the answer 82.2222!
22. See this interesting shape
Adults only! Type 'exp(-((x-4)^2+(y-4)^2)^2/1000) + exp(-((x +4)^2+(y+4)^2)^2/1000) + 0.1exp(-((x +4)^2+(y+4)^2)^2)+0.1exp(-((x -4)^2+(y-4)^2)^2' in the search bar to reveal an interesting shape.
23. Get an exact match
Looking for something very specific? Use double quotes around your search query to give you the exact match and better results.
24. Find your events
Search for 'My events' to return your agenda, taken from your Google calendar and any e-mail event confirmations. It's an easy way to see what's coming up on your social calendar.
25. Seinfeld fans will love this one
A Festivus for rest of us! the Type in 'Festivus' to see a Festivus pole down the left-hand side of the results page.
26. Listen to animal sounds
Photo credit: Douglas Brown
One for the kids, enter 'animal sounds' into the search to return lots of beautiful pictures of animals and accompanying sounds.
27. Work out distances
Settle disputes (and plan for future travels) by entering in 'Distance between [destination A] + [destination B]' into the Google search bar. Your search will return the time and distance between both destinations in a car, on the train, walking and cycling. If the distance is very far, you will return the number of miles between each destination.
28. Go all askew
Type 'Askew' into Google to see the results in a different angle. Type 'Unaskew' to get the layout back to how it was. Exciting huh?
29. Convert measurements
Search for measurement conversions such as '20 feet in metres' to get a quick answer.
30. Find out the owner or founder of a company
If you can't be bothered to search a company website or visit Wikipedia, search 'Owner of [company name]' for the answer.
31. Check the weather
Going on holiday, or just want to know whether or not to take a coat to work? Type in 'Weather + [Location]' and you'll get the forecast including temperature, precipitation, humidity and wind. It will also tell you the weather for the next seven days.
32. Plan a journey
Have you set your location on Google? If so then just type in 'Directions to Thorpe Park' and the map and instructions will come up. Easy as pie. You can then print them out and be on your way!
33. Play Zerg Rush
Type 'Zerg rush' to play a fun game from Google. Lots of the letter 'O' will try and eat up all your search results and you have to try and stop them by clicking several times on each 'O'.
34. Find a bill
As long as you have paid a bill and received a confirmation via Gmail, when you type in 'My bills' into the search box, you will get a list of the recent bill payments made online.
35. Translate
'How do you say hello in French' will bring up Google Translate and, where possible add more translations that might help you out. You can even use the dropdown to pick languages as well as listen to the pronunciation by clicking the speaker icon where possible.
36. Check the time in other countries
Search for 'Time in [country]' to know what time it is elsewhere. This way you can work out whether you need to make that phone call or whether it can wait a bit!
37. Flip a coin
Do you need to need to make a decision? Type in 'Heads or tails' or 'Flip a coin' and let Google decide for you!
Phew! That's a lot of Google search hacks. Do you know any more?
Thanks for that list. Some I knew and some were new and it was a fun read and will come in useful I am sure.
You're welcome, Jackie!