this post was submitted on 14 Dec 2024
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Today I Learned

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Also works for searches 'Times new roman' and 'Courier new font', but not for 'Lucida console font' or 'Dejavu sans font'.

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[–] [email protected] 55 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

Actually...

Seems like the font being used by this Google's Easter Egg is not exactly the Comic Sans (because it's copyrighted) but something that resembles it.

If you zoom in, you'll notice some subtle differences. For example: the lowercase A is curved at its "tail" under Comic Sans, but it's a straight line under the Google's font. The "tails" of the uppercase S are also more "curved" under Comic Sans.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I was just thinking it didn't feel as offensive as I remembered. Seems that the fake comic sans is more normal.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Comic Sans is freeware. Also, they can use CSS to force Comic Sans if installed.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Comic Sans is freeware

Unfortunately, no... It's neither freeware nor open source, as per https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/comic-sans-ms

It's copyrighted to Microsoft Corporation. It only comes with Windows installations and with Microsoft Office installations, both of which aren't freeware as well.

While any person with access to a functional Windows installation could copy the files from C:/WINDOWS/Fonts, it doesn't mean that the file can be freely used legally, especially for embedding within the web, especially by another big tech corporation which Google is.

they can use CSS to force Comic Sans if installed.

Indeed (the CSS font fallback feature), but considering that the OP is using Google Search app, it's Android so it isn't expected to have the font (except if they manually installed the font using a file copied from a Windows installation) .

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

I heard they had to make it freeware to put into web standards. So they didn't and still made it annoyingly ubiquitous? Bastards.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 week ago

That's definitely not Comic Sans. It's similar -- you can compare the screenshots in the image -- but I'm guessing it's a licensing or cross-platform thing and they're using a Google webfont?

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

There are several easter eggs that still work. A few of my favorites:

  • Search roll a die and it'll bring up a special box with a virtual die in it.
  • Search askew to tilt the page.
  • Search either do a barrel roll or z or r twice to make the page spin.
  • Search recursion and it suggests you search "recursion" instead.
  • Search anagram and it suggests "nag a ram".
  • Go to the Google frontpage, type zerg rush there, and hit "I'm Feeling Lucky" for a swarm to destroy the search results.
[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It's the phrase "that still work" in there that's depressing.

A lot of these are holdovers from Google's cool new kid phase back before hope for the future died.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Yep, right about the time they dropped "Don't be Evil" from their code of conduct.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 week ago (1 children)

In case you needed any more proof that Google has become the evil thing it originally promised not to be...

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago

It's the fact they did not include all of CJK characters in their fancy new Roboto font, so we need to have several .ttf files for all languages.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago

Another but if Comic Sans trivia, it was originally designed for Microsoft Bob OS. However it was not finished in time to be included.

For those not aware, this is what Bob looked like.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Is Comic Sans ADHD friendly?

If you have ADHD you know that nothing is friendly. Or everything can be. Or something that triggers feel good becomes interesting and good. Maybe you know why you asked the question, maybe it doesn't matter. Maybe I forgot why i started answering this in the first place.

Point is maybe?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

This hurt me because my eyeballs glossed over it like wtf and my brain was like, oh, yeah, I'm in this picture and I don't like it.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Comic Sans gets a bad rap but I used it for my system theme font on my first smartphone years ago. The same is said about Papyrus which was my favorite OG default font for mspaint.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

all comic sans ever wanted was for us to have some fucking fun. we ridiculed it, even as it turned out it had major benefits for neurodivergent readers. we are the villains, not comic sans

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I remember the first time I discovered Comic Sans. Probably like many other people - I was playing around with fonts on a school computer, and was like whoa... what is this font, I love it! It's like a comic book!!!

Like seriously what is not to love.

Then my generational cohort of cynical millennials took to the internet and bonded over mutual hatred, and dragged this poor typeface which only ever wanted to bring a little levity to otherwise cold, machine produced text.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

and it was never really comic sans we hated, was it? it was our managers using it to pretend they were fun. we all collectively bonded over blaming the wrong thing for our frustration

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

When I was in school for graphic design, anyone who used a default font would automatically fail a project.

Also, current SNL sucks compared to this.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago

Nice try Gœgle, nice try.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Is comic sans ADHD friendly?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

There are better fonts now for people with dyslexia. I think ADHD and dyslexia are different things though, there's no specific ADHD font.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

Yeah lol it was just one of the suggested searches I found funny.

I think font (as long as it's readable) doesn't matter much but lot of people have found help in a technique of "hyperbolding" specific parts of the word to make it easier to focus on the reading or something.

For me personally it was distraction, so I guess it's individual thing

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

I love using it when some typeface nerd spouts off about why it's bad.