Fridaygram: data centers, extinction period, Shuttle streets

October 19, 2012


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By Scott Knaster, Google Developers Blog Editor

We have never said much about our data centers, but this week that changed in a very cool way. We launched a new site that takes you inside our data centers, with lots of great photos, a walkthrough courtesy of Street View, plus a WIRED story by Steven Levy about how our data centers have changed since the earliest days of Google.



Secret tip: there might be Easter eggs in the Street View tour.

Looking back a bit, about 250 million years ago, scientists have now figured out why there were no new species for 5 million years in the Early Triassic period. It turns out to be a simple answer: the weather was really hot. A study found that the average land temperature near the equator was 50 to 60°C, which was enough to keep new species from developing.

Returning to the present, this past week saw the final journey of the Space Shuttle Endeavour to its new museum home. This event provided some incredible juxtapositions as the spacecraft rolled down Los Angeles city streets past homes, restaurants, and onlookers. It was definitely not typical L.A. traffic.


The tagline of Google Developers Blog up there at the top is “News and insights on Google platforms, tools, and events”. This is somewhat less true on Friday, when we publish Fridaygram, a post containing stuff that’s simply interesting and nerdy.