Anyone who's ever whiled away an afternoon gazing at Rihanna GIFs (that is to say, all of us) knows what an important invention Google Image Search is. Today, we bring you the strange-but-true tale of how Jennifer Lopez inspired it.
In an article at Project Syndicate, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt revealed the feature's oddball origins:
"People wanted more than just text. This first became apparent after the 2000 Grammy Awards, where Jennifer Lopez wore a green dress that, well, caught the world’s attention. At the time, it was the most popular search query we had ever seen. But, we had no surefire way of getting users exactly what they wanted: J.Lo wearing that dress."
Thus, he explains, "Google Image Search was born." It's a testament to Google's uncanny knack for giving the people what they want (well, except Google Wave, Buzz, and constant surveillance). But, more importantly, it's yet another feather in the cap of J.Lo, ageless queen of dance-pop and apparent tech-innovation muse. Seriously, though: Is there anything she can't do? (Dazed)
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