On Sept 5 2009 Google changed their logo adding a mysterious flying saucer that linked to a preset search for “unexplained mysteries”. As I know that several people were curious about this riddle, I’ve decided to post my findings…
Google Flying Saucer Logo
Have to admit, this one is for real geeks… I happen to be one and I couldn’t resist the temptation of finding out what was it about! I really love riddles, so i delved a bit deeper…
On their twitter account, Google published a “weird” sequence of numbers: 1.12.12 25.15.21.18 15 1.18.5 2.5.12.15.14.7 20,15 21,19 and a link to twitpic. After a few minutes of thinking, quite anybody can guess that these are just letters’ positions: that sequence of numbers translates to “ALL YOUR O ARE BELONG TO US”. Good then, we’ve got the second clue! But what does that mean?!?!
Now, this requires a bit of (really nerdy) explanation: this phrase comes from a Japanese video game published in late 80’s, “Zero Wing“, whose European version was incorrectly translated to “ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US“. In early 2000 this phrase rapidly became a meme and was used over and over again to make fun of poor translations and it’s quite commonly referred to as of nowadays in geeky environments.
OK so, where are we at? the “ALL YOUR O ARE BELONG TO US” mysterious message. The “treasure hunt” quickly spread on the web: people twittering from all over the world trying to decipher this message from the googly aliens. I guessed I had enough pieces of the puzzle, but I couldn’t understand what the lads in Google really meant… mumble…
The next question I asked myself was: what do the Google staff use special logos for? Usually, anniversaries of findings, dates of birth, social events and other recurrences. They also used some special logos to introduce new services they’ve published over time, but this wasn’t the case as they haven’t announced anything. So what then?!?
Idea: for sake of curiosity, let me check on wiki what date was that “Zero Wing” video game originally released… Oh look!! September 5 1989. Coincidentally, It’s the 20th birthday of a modern meme! 
That’s about it… no alien invasion has been planned! It’s just Google’s way to celebrate a “symbol” modern culture.
So, what’s with this post? Apart from the fun hour spent deciphering their message, what really surprised me is (once again) the growing influence Google has on our lives… million of users tried to solve this riddle using forums, instant messaging applications, twitter and so on as if that had some real meaning. Can you picture in your mind what would happen if Google started a viral campaign about something? How much interest would the momentum build up? What if this was just an experiment to see people’s reaction to these events?
Well…. 9.20′19 1 13.25.19.20.5.18.25 
