 | |
Screenshot  elgooG's homepage | |
Type of site | Search engine |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| URL | elgoog |
| Launched | 2002; 24 years ago (2002) |
| Current status | Active |
elgooG is the wordGooglespelled backwards. It has been used in theURL of an unofficial jokemirror site ofGoogle Search, which allowed users fromMainland China to bypass theGreat Firewall.
The first usage of the term comes from a Google mirror site created by All Too Flat, a website dedicated to "useless information and the promotion of laughter". It accepted queries and providedsearch results that were spelled in reverse alphabetical order.[1][2]
elgooG was not officially affiliated with Google,[1] although the domainelgoog.com is owned by Google LLC as of January 13, 2026.[3] Its creators asked Google for permission to sell elgooG merchandise to cover bandwidth costs but were refused.[4]
elgooG gained popularity in 2002 because it could still be accessed frommainland China through theGreat Firewall even after the governmentblocked search engines such asAltaVista and Google, although the mirror site did not have support for Chinese characters.[5][1]
On April 8, 2015, Google created an official mirrored version of Google Search forApril Fools' Day withcom.google.[6] The site was the company's first ever use of the.googletop-level domain.[7]
