A snapshot of the 31 December, 2014 Google Doodle.
As we bid adieu to 2014 and brace ourselves to welcome 2015 with a bang, Google, through its signature doodle, looks back at some events and incidents of the year that made news and got us talking.
The doodle opens with an animation of a yellow 2-D bird, representing the popular game 'Flappy Bird'. While it was severely criticized for its level of difficulty and accused of plagiarism, it still became the most searched game on Google and one of the most downloaded apps in 2014.
The doodle then transforms into a blue and green football representing the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil where Germany emerged victorious, for the fourth-time, defeating Lionel Messi-led-Argentina in the finals. The World Cup grabbed headlines with incidents such as the Luis Suarez Biting Scandal, the 7-1 thrashing of Brazil in the Semi-Finals, to name a few.
The doodle also celebrated the Philae Lander, developed by the European Space Agency, which successfully landed on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko nearly 10 years after it was launched. Philae has the distinction of being the first spacecraft to land on a comet's nucleus.
The animation then ended with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge which, whilst becoming an important part of 2014's pop culture, also raised awareness on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's Disease which affects nerve cells in the brain. Many celebrities including actors, sportspersons, politicians, world leaders, entrepreneurs as well as organizations took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and donated to ALS research.
Google has been lauded for coming up with innovative doodles on significant happenings.
Here's hoping 2015 will be as eventful as 2014.