Google Zipper

ByRonny Alexander Hours
Zip position: 0%

Take hold of the metal pull and drag it down. The teeth part in pairs as it passes and the two halves of the page swing open behind it.

What Is the Google Zipper?

A working zip fastener runs down the middle of the search page. Pull the tab and the layout splits, peels back and hangs open at whatever point you let go. Push the tab back up and the teeth mesh again from the bottom.

It is the most physical of the browser tricks because the effect is tied to your drag speed and distance rather than to a click. Move slowly and you can watch individual teeth separate.

How the Google Zipper Started

It was built for the 132nd birthday of the engineer who developed the modern zip fastener, and it ran on the homepage for a single day in April 2012. Pulling the zip opened the page onto search results about him.

Doodles rotate out after their day, so the interactive original moved to an archive. That is where google zipper online, google zipper play and google zipper game all point now, and it is the same fate the seasonal let it snow google trick met.

How to Use the Google Zipper

  • Press and hold the pull tab, then drag straight down.
  • Release at any point. The halves stay open where you left them.
  • Use unzip the page for a smooth automatic pull, or open it halfway for a partial split.
  • Zip it back up closes the page in one motion.

Dragging in short bursts gives the best result, since the teeth spread further apart the faster the tab passes them.

FAQs

Is the zipper doodle still on the homepage?

No. It ran for one day in 2012 and now lives in the archive with the other interactive doodles.

Why do searches like google ziper, google zippe and google sipper lead here?

They are common misspellings of the same trick, and they are corrected automatically.

What sits behind the page when it opens?

In the original, a set of search results. Here it is the logo, showing through the gap as the halves separate.

Which other doodle can I still play?

The maze from 2010 is the big one. It is covered under google pac-man, along with the rest of the google easter eggs.

Ronny Alexander is the founder and lead writer of Co-op Board Games, a site he launched in 2016 to celebrate the fun, challenge, and creativity of cooperative tabletop gaming. A lifelong board gamer, Ronny has spent over 15 years playing co-op games with a core group of friends—along with several other gaming groups—giving him a broad, real-world perspective on what works (and what doesn’t) at the table.