Birthday of inventor Frank Zamboni marked with interactive Google Doodle

16 Jan 2013

If you’re looking for a little something to get you through this hump day, look no further than Google’s homepage as an interactive Google Doodle honouring the inventor of the modern ice resurfacer has a challenge to keep you occupied and entertained!

In today’s doodle, the iconic search engine’s name gets an icy makeover, while animated skaters and ice hockey players are followed by a man driving a modern ice resurfacer, a machine invented by Frank Zamboni, whose surname still adorns them to this day.

Invented in 1949, the Zamboni Ice Resurfacer reduced the task of resurfacing an ice rink from a three-man, 90-minute job to a one-man, 10-minute show. But how fast can you resurface the ice in Google’s interactive doodle?

To mark Zamboni’s birthday, today’s doodle features a game where you are the driver of a Zamboni attempting to resurface the slippery ice. At first, this seems easy enough and you can pick up fuel reserves as you go (and other treats like ice cream!) But, as more skaters join in the fun, the task becomes tougher, and you have to watch out for banana skins!

The fun little game comes with arcade-style sound effects and you can share your results on Google+.

By the time the ice hockey players arrived, I was spent. How far will you get?

Google doodle: Frank Zamboni

Elaine Burke is the host of For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. She was previously the editor of Silicon Republic.

editorial@siliconrepublic.com