Our 10 Favorite Google Doodles

There are few better feelings than starting up your computer, logging onto the Internet, and finding a fresh Google Doodle waiting for you. Okay, maybe the birth of your first child or a fresh snow cone make for better feelings, but that's pretty much it. For the past few years, Google has graced the technologically-inclined public with animated greetings, celebrating whatever birthday, anniversary, or holiday might fall on the date. Each and every time, it's a fun distraction (sometimes one so engaging as to actually put your job in peril). But sometimes, they crank out some especially great gems.
As such, we've put together a gallery of our favorite Google Doodles. From today's honoring of cinematic legend Saul Bass, to a recent tribute to the Star Trek franchise, to the expression of the importance of Earth Day, Google has managed to work up some wonderful, charming creations. Click through our gallery of the , and let us know your own picks.

Saul Bass' 93rd Birthday

Google Doodles have become as beloved a tradition as the very birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays they celebrate. Although we're always glad to open our browsers to meet the latest interactive distraction, there are a handful that stand out as the best of the lot. The latest is a fitting tribute to the graphic designer and title sequence artist Saul Bass, who worked on the introductions to films by greats such as Hitchcock and Kubrick. Google has designed its greeting in the legend's iconic visual style

 

30th Anniversary of 'Pac Man'

Technology has come a long way in three decades. There was a time when a yellow circle chomping down on smaller, brighter circles was the pinnacle of computer animation. Now, the realm is boundless... and yet, as this Google Doodle proved, we're still most excited about yellow circles chomping down on smaller, brighter circles.

  

 

Martin Luther King Day 2013

A touching tribute to the pioneer of American civil rights, this Google Doodle worked to depict Martin Luther King Jr. in all of the elegance and grace he embodied as a catalyst for social change in our nation.

  

 

46th Anniversary of 'Star Trek'

Much like Gene Roddenberry's timeless creation, this Doodle was complex, intricate, and overall entertaining, offering fans a fun entryway into the vast universe of Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock.

  

 

Les Paul's 96th Birthday

Embodying the legacy of the jazz and blues icon, Google put together an interactive Doodle for the musical prodigies and the melodically illiterate alike. Either way, it was engaging enough to keep you occupied for quite some time, all the while offering due worship to the father of the solid-body electric guitar.

  

 

Charlie Chaplin's 122nd Birthday

Fewer names cast a larger shadow over the world of Hollywood than Charlie Chaplin, and Google kept the silent film star on our minds with this applicably stylized, smile-provoking Doodle 

 

Earth Day 2013

Charged with paying mind to an all-important holiday, Google put together an Earth Day Doodle to remind us just how beautiful our planet can be, if we're willing to take care of it.

  

 

Jim Henson's 75th Birthday

Two decades past his death, Jim Henson's influence carries on, as his Muppet family continues to find life on screens big and small. Google honored the master puppeteer with an appropriately merry assembly of smiling, singing, chomping puppet characters, among the most fun of its Doodles to date.

  

 

Freddie Mercury's 65th Birthday

You'd find it no easy feat to offer a fitting tribute to Freddie Mercury, an unparalleled artist who died far too soon. But Google managed to put together a Doodle worthy of tears: an illustration of Mercury's superhuman glory and unbelievable passion in this most touching animated Doodle.

  

 

Election Day 2008

On one of the most incredible days in recent American history, Google kept things simple: a reminder of the importance of Election Day and our democratic system on the whole — and a subtle suggestion that each of us has the ability to change the world as we see fit.