Why the balls, Google?

Google’s “Google Doodle” this morning is all animated and interesting, but unlike previous ones, there’s no clickable link to show what they’re honoring, pimping or to what they may be referring.

People have been describing it as “bouncing balls,” and it’s indeed an animated logo and… balls. Google is quiet about the inspiration, which has lead to a lot of speculation. HuffPo was like:

There has been speculation that today’s Google logo celebrates Google’s 12th birthday, although a Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land that the Google “Doodle” “is not related to Google’s birthday but is fast, fun and interactive, just the way we think search should be.” There is also buzz that the unusual design was intended to showcase JavaScript and HTML5 technologies.

Google says it’s not a birthday thing, even though they “opened their doors” on September 7th of 1998. The AJC pointed out:

Some experts have speculated this is Google’s way of showing what its Chrome browser can do in HTML5 — the latest version of the standard programming code for displaying Web content. Others have called it a stunt to hype a forthcoming announcement.

So for now, the bouncing ball logo remains a mystery. For posterity’s sake, you can watch a clip of the animation below. Me, I’m just amused one of the most searched terms this morning is “Google balls.”