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Google releases Martian invasion doodle to mark birthday of HG Wells
Google has released a new doodle showing a scene from War of the Worlds, after confirming that its recent UFO logos were intended to mark the birthday of HG Wells.
The third and most revealing Google UFO doodle
The latest sketch shows the long-legged Martian fighting machines that feature in Wells's alien invasion novel trampling over the Surrey countryside.
Clicking on the image takes users through to search results for the English author, who is considered one of the fathers of science fiction.
The doodle is the third in as many weeks to feature "unexplained phenomena" following frenzied rumours on the web about the meaning of the first two designs.
Google this morning put an end to the speculation by admitting that the logos were designed to commemorate the 143rd birthday of Wells, who was born on Sep 21 1866.
In books including War of the Worlds, Wells "encouraged fantastical thinking about what is possible, on this planet and beyond", Google said in a blog post.
The first mysterious Google doodle appeared on September 5, and showed a flying saucer hovering over the Google logo and "abducting" the letter "O".
Google issued a teaser message on its Twitter account, which translated as "All your O belong to us", a nod to Zero Wing, a cult Japanese video game. Clicking on the logo took web users through to a page of search results for the term "unexplained phenomenon".
Internet users came up with various theories about what it could mean. Some suggested it could be tied to a forthcoming movie or video game launch, although Google pointed out that its doodles were never used for commercial purposes. Others thought that the abduction of the letter "O" could be the first in a series of such logos, with a string of abducted letters used to spell the name of a new Google product or service.
On September 15, a second Google doodle appeared, showing a flying saucer hovering over a field. The Google logo was spelled out as series of crop circles, and clicking on the doodle produced a list of web pages related to crop circles. Google issued a second tweet, containing a string of coordinates, which centred on Woodham Road in Woking, Surrey.
Some web users quickly realised that Woodham Road was near Horsell Commons, the location of the first alien landings in HG Wells' 1898 novel, and that the timing of the doodles coincided with the 143rd anniversary of HG Wells' birth.
"We were delighted that people played along with us and shared their theories," wrote Micheal Lopez, a Google web designer, in a blog post. "Some of you figured out what we were doing but we weren't ready to reveal it all just yet.
"Now, we're finally acknowledging the reason for the doodles with an official nod to Herbert George Wells, who would be 143 years old today.
"The invasion of the logo by alien crafts and pods makes our series complete, but you'll have to read the book to find out how Wells' story really ends."
Although Google regularly uses its doodles to mark significant events, anniversaries and notable dates, it usually does so explicitly. This is the first time Google has used a series of mysterious logos to build up to an event.
Originally posted by afterschoolfun
Isn't this getting old? I've seen about 10 different threads about the UFO Google logo. And its been thoroughly covered. And no, Google isn't trying to disclose the existence of ET life through little icons. Sorry