The original cheat code and now the key to a quick laugh, the Konami Code, is a common means to see a surprise on a website. Pressing "left right left right up down up down B A" on many websites will often lead to a surprise. On Facebook this used to create a variety of circles on screen and on MailChimp, a popular newsletter service, this yields a large ape appearing on screen. The Konami Code is just one of the many ways to find a joke hidden on the web or in a program. But what was once the programmer's hidden signature or witty surprise has often become a means for websites and companies to be more fun. Despite their new legal identity as people [Citizen's United v. FEC], most people still consider corporations the same lifeless legal entities of yesteryear, but with a witty joke and a hidden message corporations humanize themselves. Google's "Don't be evil" motto and it's penchant for amusing Easter eggs (hidden surprises) helped Google transform itself from a mere search company into the verb ‘to google.'
Google's jokes have included searching directions (walking) from the USA to China (or any nation across the Pacific) will yield instructions to Kayak from the West Coast to Hawaii, then to Japan, after which you will find yourself Jet skiing from Japan to China. April Fools' Day jokes have included pig latin, the Muppet's "Bork bork bork" and Star Trek's "Klingon" as possible languages in which users can search. Google's calculator will also tell you the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything" from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Google Earth has a miniature flight simulator built within it that can be accessed by searching for the famed "Area 51," holding ctrl and pressing "a" (then pressing "g" to fly); which more recently can be accessed directly. Another Google product, Youtube, has a hidden game of "Snake" in it which can be accessed while watching a video and holding the up and down arrow keys (to effectively replace your watching cat video-time wasting with video game-time wasting).
Previously, these Easter eggs were often a programmer's signature or stylistic flair but more in more they have become ways for companies to seem to have greater ‘personality.' Siri, Apple's new personal assistant offers up a variety of amusing responses: "I need to hide a body?" provides you with a list to search for reservoirs, metal foundries, mines, dumps and swamps. Tell Siri you love her and she'll say "I'm sure you say that to all your Apple products."
How are many of these ‘Easter Eggs' found? Often the original coder will let it slip to the public that "something" might be hidden at a certain location, or a user will go searching for an Easter egg if they know that a program (or its maker) often inserts Easter eggs. Of course, there is always the chance that an unaware user simply stumbles upon an Easter egg in normal use of a program.
It's worth noting that not all programming humor is hidden. Facebook has the rather elaborate but fun "Pirate" language option and TV shows like Lost make clear use of ‘hidden' numbers. From a programmer's trick to a humanizing tool, the hidden gems that are Easter eggs always cause a brief smile or chuckle when you least expect it.
