Google Zipper: Pull the Tab, Open the Page
On April 24, 2012, Google’s homepage showed up zipped shut. The doodle honoured Gideon Sundback, the Swedish-American engineer behind the modern zip, on his 132nd birthday.
A drag on the tab split the page down the middle. That doodle left the homepage long ago. The stage above rebuilds the google zipper with our own fabric, teeth and pull, so you can open it as often as you like.
Google Zipper Not Working? Try These Fixes
The tab will not move
Grab the green slider itself, not the black fabric. On a trackpad, press and hold before you drag down.
Your phone scrolls instead of unzipping
Start the drag right on the tab. The tab stops page scroll while your finger rests on it. You can also tap the Unzip button under the stage.
It stops halfway
Let go and the zip stays put, like a real one. Drag again, or press U to finish the job.
A search for google zipper shows nothing special
That is normal. The doodle ran on April 24, 2012, and today the search brings up articles about it, not the live effect.
The search box will not take text
The box stays locked while any fabric covers it. Finish the unzip, wait for the halves to slide away, then click the box.
The fabric looks cut off on a small screen
Turn the phone sideways or zoom out one step. The zip redraws to fit the new width each time the window changes size.
No zip sound
Sound waits for your first tap or drag. Drag the tab once and the rasp starts. Check that the Sound button reads Sound on.
Keyboard Shortcuts for the Google Zipper
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| U | Unzips the whole page |
| Z | Zips it back up |
| Tab | Puts focus on the pull |
| Down or Up arrow | Moves the focused pull by a tenth |
| Home or End | Sends the pull to the top or bottom |
| Space or Enter | Opens or closes from the pull |
| M | Turns sound on or off |
Once the page is open, the search box works. Type a word and you get a small set of made-up results.
Lesser-Known Facts Behind the Google Zipper
- Elias Howe, known for the sewing machine, won a patent for a garment fastener in 1851. It worked more like a drawstring than a zip.
- Whitcomb Judson patented his clasp locker in 1893 and showed it at the Chicago World’s Fair that year. Few buyers took it up.
- Sundback was born in Sweden in 1880 and moved to the United States in 1905.
- He filed his Separable Fastener patent in 1914. The patent came through in 1917.
- B. F. Goodrich coined the word zipper in 1923 for a line of rubber boots.
- The firm that made his fasteners moved to Meadville, Pennsylvania, and later took the name Talon.
More Page Tricks Like the Google Zipper
Pages that move are a doodle tradition. Watch a search page fall apart with Google Gravity, or flip it left to right with Google Mirror. Our Google Easter eggs hub lists the rest.
FAQs
What is the Google zipper?
It was a Google Doodle from April 24, 2012 that zipped the homepage shut. Pulling the tab split the page open. It marked the 132nd birthday of Gideon Sundback, who developed the modern zip.
How do you unzip Google?
You drag the zipper tab down from the top of the page. Google’s 2012 doodle no longer runs, so use the recreation on this page. Drag the green tab, tap Unzip or press U.
Who invented the zipper?
Gideon Sundback developed the modern zipper. He filed his Separable Fastener patent in 1914 and received it in 1917. Whitcomb Judson’s clasp locker from 1893 came first but found few buyers.
When was the Google zipper doodle?
It ran on April 24, 2012. That date was Gideon Sundback’s 132nd birthday, since he was born in Sweden on April 24, 1880. He moved to the United States in 1905.
