This month saw the passing of Alex Trebek, the longtime host of Jeopardy and a global icon. To honor Trebek’s life and legacy, Google Search has introduced a simple Jeopardy-themed easter egg.
Did you know that Alex Trebek was not the original host of Jeopardy? When the game show, created by Merv Griffin, debuted in 1964, it was hosted by Art Fleming, and Fleming continued as the host through various iterations of the show until 1979. Alex Trebek actually became the host starting with the most recent reboot of Jeopardy, which has been consistently on the air since 1984.
Tragically, Alex Trebek was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer in March of 2019, a disease that ultimately took his life on November 8, 2020. Jeopardy is still on the air today, with Trebek and the rest of the show’s crew having intentionally filmed episodes to keep the show going through December 25.
One of the core tenets of playing Jeopardy is that contestants must answer each clue in the form of a question. This week, as spotted by John Pettitt on Twitter, Google Search has added an easter egg in memory of the host’s legacy, showing “Did you mean: who is Alex Trebek” — rephrasing your query into the form of a question — at the top of the search results page when searching for “Alex Trebek.”
This is far from the first time Google has used the “Did you mean:” format for an easter egg. Some famous examples include “Did you mean: nag a ram” when searching for “anagram,” and “Did you mean: recursion” when searching for “recursion.”
Regardless, it’s incredibly wholesome to see Google honor Trebek and his Jeopardy legacy this way. Considering how quickly they were able to make this easter egg available, it’s clear how much of an impact Trebek doubtlessly had on the lives of many Googlers.
More easter eggs:
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