Wednesday’s Google Doodle offers a glimpse of what American traffic would’ve looked like 101 years ago, when the world’s first electric traffic light was installed.
The device, the predecessor to what is used worldwide today, was installed in Cleveland, Ohio, on Aug. 5, 1914, at the corner of 105th and Euclid.
The lights offered respite to policemen who had previously been forced to direct cars and horse-drawn wagons in the middle of crowded highways, even in the throes of a midwestern winter.
It wasn’t the first time that people had tried to find alternatives to traffic regulation, though. While gas-lit traffic signals were installed in the 19th century in the U.K., they often proved ineffective — especially since they were known to spontaneously explode.
The Doodle shows the jerky and chaotic traffic flow of a century past — a feature intentionally added by illustrator Nate Swinehart, who wanted to outline that the yellow light wasn’t introduced until even later to regulate traffic flow more effectively.
See Google Doodles Through the Years
Aug. 26, 2015 For the 70th anniversary of La Tomatina.GoogleMay 26, 2015 In celebration of the 64th birthday of
Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.GoogleMarch 31, 2015 Honoring the 126th anniversary of the public opening of the Eiffel Tower.GoogleMar. 20, 2015 To celebrate the start of spring and the vernal equinox, Google created a stop-motion animation of flowers in bloom.GoogleNov. 12, 2014 For the landing of the Philae lander, the first spacecraft on a moving comet, Google created a gyrating lander with passing stars.GoogleSept. 9, 2014 For Tolstoy's 186th birthday, the Google Doodle team created an appropriately long click-through doodle.GoogleMay 27, 2014 For the Rachel Louise Carson doodle, the team surrounded her with birds and sea creatures to celebrate her 107th birthday.GoogleMay 4 2014 For Audrey Hepburn's 85th birthday, the doodle team adapted an image from a 1956 black and white photograph taken by Yousuf Karsh.GoogleJune 9, 2011 The doodlers came up with the idea of a playable logo, then pegged it to guitar innovator Les Paul's 96th birthday. Turning on composer mode allows you to create songs that you can share online.GoogleMarch 24, 2011 The Harry Houdini doodle was created in the style of the old posters advertising the death-defying magician.GoogleNov. 25, 2010 Chef Ina Garten prepared this Thanksgiving feast, which Google photographed. If you clicked on a dish, her recipe appeared.GoogleMay 7, 2010 Google asked the San Francisco Ballet to pose and twirl to re-create Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.GoogleOct. 7, 2009 Scan the doodle that marks the first patent for the bar code and you'll decode Google embedded within.GoogleMarch 2, 2009 The doodlers arranged classic Dr. Seuss characters, like the Cat in the Hat and the Grinch, to form the logo's letters.GoogleJan. 28, 2009 There was no other way to honor abstract artist Jackson Pollack than with a chaotic drip painting.GoogleJan. 19, 2009 Guest artist Shepard Fairey (famed for his Obama HOPE poster) did a sketch for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.GoogleJan. 28, 2008 Early on, Google used Lego blocks as casing for hard disks. Later it feted Lego's 50th anniversary.GoogleApril 22, 2007 A melting iceberg for Earth Day is one of many eco-minded doodles the team has created.GoogleJan. 4, 2006 Enter the world of out-there doodles — Google in braille. Only problem: you can't feel it.GoogleMarch 30, 2005 The Van Gogh doodle appeared in an era when doodles began to get more ambitious, and it's one of the doodlers' best interpretations of a specific painter.GoogleAug. 13, 2003 Early doodles of famous folk tended to be simple, like this silhouette of Alfred Hitchcock.GoogleMarch 14, 2003 The early doodles were often simple but playful, like this mustachioed drawing of Albert Einstein to celebrate his birthday.GoogleNov. 14, 2001 Google's first doodler, Dennis Hwang, gave the logo an Impressionist look for Claude Monet's birthday.GoogleAug. 30, 1998 When employees left for the Burning Man festival, the Google logo became a cryptic BE BACK LATER sign. "There was no master plan for doodles at that point," says doodler-in-chief Ryan Germick.Google
