For many people, Google is a tool that you use every day – but mostly just to google something. But the search engine can do much more than just spit out the results of an internet search. TECHBOOK shows what other useful and fun features you should know about.
Be it terms, people, restaurant recommendations or illnesses – we are constantly Googling things. For many users, the search engine has a permanent place in everyday life. What most people don’t know is that the US company has equipped its Google search with a variety of additional functions that hardly anyone knows about. So that you can take advantage of the full range of functions in the future, we will introduce you to the most useful and fun Google functions. And “Askew“ – English for “crooked” – is not a real, extensive function, but just enter the word in the Google search…
1. Animal sounds
Probably the best fun function for children and young children: Similar to an animal sound piano, you can easily play a wide variety of animal sounds with a Google search “animal sounds“ type into the search field. There are common noises such as meowing or barking.
The list also includes some more exotic sounds, such as the trill of an anteater or the crackling of a scorpion. There’s even a dinosaur featured, although its roar is probably not 100 percent authentic. You can also play several sounds at the same time.
2. Stopwatch and timer
This Google function can be useful, for example, if you want to set a specific time limit for work but don’t want to use your smartphone – for example to avoid the trap of procrastination. To get to the stopwatch or timer, enter any amount of time into Google search. Then put the search term “timer” behind it. You will then find the timer and stopwatch at the top of the results list.
3. Handwriting on Google Translate
Are you in another country and don’t speak the language? No problem, there is the translation aid Google Translate for that. However, things get difficult with languages whose symbols you don’t know. There’s a trick here too: you can use the handwriting function to simply copy the characters and find out what they mean.
Admittedly, brushing off foreign characters by hand can be a bit annoying, as well as being slow and prone to errors. It is therefore also possible to load entire documents and websites into Google Translate. On your smartphone you can easily scan and translate foreign language texts using the camera. However, the function still reaches its limits when it comes to handwritten texts or squiggly fonts.
4. Google Keep
With Google Notes, you can record important notes anywhere on your smartphone or computer so you don’t forget them thanks to the reminder function.
5. Google Scholar
This tool is particularly useful for students, scientists and friends of good research: On Google Scholar you can search for scientific articles and books and get free access to many texts.
6. Google Sky and Google Earth
This function is something for real space fans: With Google Sky you can look into cosmic expanses or enter them moon or Mars virtual. The sky map shows a lot of celestial objects. Within the function that can be found at google.com/sky.
The counterpart to this is Google Earth – the function is a little better known. There you can look at the Earth from space or zoom in very closely. You can also discover surprising new places using the “Have a Luck” tab.
7. Google Arts and Culture
With this function you save yourself a visit to the museum. On Google Arts & Culture, users can view works of art and exhibits of all kinds from galleries and museums online. This makes long journeys and endless queues at the entrance unnecessary! Art enthusiasts can marvel at paintings like “The Girl with a Pearl Earring” at a close-up and magnified level that might not be possible in a museum setting. Anyone who prefers a more playful approach to art will also find what they are looking for. Whether puzzles, mini-adventure games or augmented reality – the playground of this Google function is large.
More fun Google features
Google has many other features, big and small, helpful and fun. Whoever said the words “Do a barrel roll“, you might get a little dizzy because the Google page suddenly turns upside down – and back again. Musicians who are not at the rehearsal metronome If you have it at hand, you can use the Google function of the same name and use it to remedy the situation. The phrase “The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything“ not only reveals images of the number 42 but also a calculator. If you’re particularly bored, you can always “Tic Tac To“play against Google and also a visually guided breathing exercise (“Breathing exercise“) there is. Those who are completely undecided can also do a virtual one coin or one Dice throw with any number of pages.