When is Google's birthday? 17th anniversary doodle recalls 'humble beginnings'

A chunky PC, lava lamp and the 1998 Google logo encourage users to wish the company a happy birthday

There was a beautiful array of autumnal vegetables for the Google doodle marking the change of the season, and a rugby player looking suspiciously like an American footballer for the start of the Rugby World Cup. But to mark its 17th anniversary, Google has gone for a retro commemorative doodle, referencing a simpler era when Larry Page and Sergey Brin could leave a doodle of a stick man to tell users that they were out of office at the Burning Man Festival.

Google has celebrated its anniversary with a doodle every year since its fourth in 2002, and has at times sparked controversy: in 2014, the company used a rainbow-coloured doodle to mark the opening of the Sochi Winter Olympics, declaring where it stood on Russia's gay rights record.