You’d be forgiven if you think that today’s Google Doodle is something left over from Halloween. After all, it is a creepy blue shade, which is the most common horror movie shade, and it is full of bones and organs and whatnot. However, it’s not a Doodle designed for creepiness, it’s a Doodle designed to honor the 115th Anniversary of the invention of the x-ray machine by German scientist Wilhelm Rontgen.
In 1895, Rontgen was the researcher who discovered that the free electrons generated by Crookes tubes, a particular type of cathode ray tube, could be used to see through solid objects, like trunks or people. While the Crookes tubes and their electron generating capacity was first observed in 1875, it took 20 years for someone to figure out a way to use that power for any sort of constructive use. That was Rontgen, and his invention has changed the practice of medicine completely.
Interestingly enough, the nod to Rontgen’s invention also contains an inside joke. The small G in Google contains pigeon feathers and bones, which is a bit strange until you look at Google’s past. In 2002, Google rolled out a new service known as PigeonRank on April 1, in which pigeons were used to control the ranking of search results in Google’s searches. (Yes, it was an April Fools joke.)
Tags: x-ray invention, the x-ray machine, x-rays, Wilhelm Röntgen, Wilhelm Rontgen, 115th Anniversary of the X-Ray machine, Crookes tubes, cathode ray tubes, weird science, medical breakthroughs, Google, Google Doodle, Google X-Ray Doodle, PigeonRank, Pigeon Rank