What's This?
Michelle Jaworski for The Daily Dot 2013-08-10 14:52:22 UTC
Easter Eggs have long been a staple in video games, TV shows and even movies. They're hidden nods to the audience by the designers, inserted to reward superfans who take the time to look for them.
In YouTube's Geek Week Easter Egg hunt, you don't win for being the first to uncover an egg. You earn a series of badges (think Pokémon) for every Easter Egg you unlock, for taking the Geek IQ test and for watching as many Geek Week videos as possible.
Each Easter Egg references an aspect of geek culture, and you can unlock many of them with a simple search or even while watching one of the many videos made this week.
YouTube has shared hints throughout the week on its official Twitter account, but we've got the lowdown on all of the Easter Eggs in one place so that you can collect them all.
[h=3]1. YouTube, ASCII-style[/h] Type "/ geek week" into the search bar (that space is vital) and discover the ASCII version of YouTube: old-school graphics with a black background and a serif typeface.
Image: YouTube
[h=3]2. "Beam me up, Scotty"[/h] Although nobody in the Star Trek TV show and films ever actually said "beam me up, Scotty" to chief engineer Montgomery Scott, typing the catchphrase into the site's search bar will transport the search results right to you.
Image: YouTube
[h=3]3. Use the Force, Luke[/h] You no longer need Midi-chlorians in your body to use the Force. Simply typing Obi-Wan Kenobi's advice to Luke Skywalker into the search field will give you access to those powers (although only on that particular page).
Image: YouTube
[h=3]4. Fibonacci Sequence[/h] The Fibonacci Sequence might come in handy in mathematics, but you don't actually need to know the sequence of numbers to unlock this Easter Egg. Just type in "Fibonacci," and you can see the resulting videos pop up in a corresponding spiral.
Image: YouTube
[h=3]5. Leetspeak[/h] Type in "1337" (leetspeak for "leet") anywhere that isn't the search bar or comment box while watching any video and see the comments section turn into a jumble of 13375P34K — which just might improve them.
Image: YouTube
[h=3]6. POW![/h] This unlock only applies to Geek Week videos published on Aug. 6. On the same tab where you can adjust volume, change quality and queue a video to watch later, you'll see a "POW!" button. Click that, and your video will transform into a grainy-looking video comic book.
Image: YouTube
[h=3]7. Missile Command[/h] Type "1980" while watching any video and you'll be thrust into a game of Missile Command, the classic 1980 Atari game. You'll have to protect your video from the missiles raining down on it, and if you let too many pass by, your video will break.
Image: YouTube
[h=3]8. My Little Pony[/h] An Easter egg just for the Bronies. Type in the name of any character from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic into the search bar, and your bar will change colors.
Image: YouTube
Image: Flickr, Carolyn
Easter Eggs have long been a staple in video games, TV shows and even movies. They're hidden nods to the audience by the designers, inserted to reward superfans who take the time to look for them.
In YouTube's Geek Week Easter Egg hunt, you don't win for being the first to uncover an egg. You earn a series of badges (think Pokémon) for every Easter Egg you unlock, for taking the Geek IQ test and for watching as many Geek Week videos as possible.
Each Easter Egg references an aspect of geek culture, and you can unlock many of them with a simple search or even while watching one of the many videos made this week.
YouTube has shared hints throughout the week on its official Twitter account, but we've got the lowdown on all of the Easter Eggs in one place so that you can collect them all.
[h=3]1. YouTube, ASCII-style[/h] Type "/ geek week" into the search bar (that space is vital) and discover the ASCII version of YouTube: old-school graphics with a black background and a serif typeface.
[h=3]2. "Beam me up, Scotty"[/h] Although nobody in the Star Trek TV show and films ever actually said "beam me up, Scotty" to chief engineer Montgomery Scott, typing the catchphrase into the site's search bar will transport the search results right to you.
[h=3]3. Use the Force, Luke[/h] You no longer need Midi-chlorians in your body to use the Force. Simply typing Obi-Wan Kenobi's advice to Luke Skywalker into the search field will give you access to those powers (although only on that particular page).
[h=3]4. Fibonacci Sequence[/h] The Fibonacci Sequence might come in handy in mathematics, but you don't actually need to know the sequence of numbers to unlock this Easter Egg. Just type in "Fibonacci," and you can see the resulting videos pop up in a corresponding spiral.
[h=3]5. Leetspeak[/h] Type in "1337" (leetspeak for "leet") anywhere that isn't the search bar or comment box while watching any video and see the comments section turn into a jumble of 13375P34K — which just might improve them.
[h=3]6. POW![/h] This unlock only applies to Geek Week videos published on Aug. 6. On the same tab where you can adjust volume, change quality and queue a video to watch later, you'll see a "POW!" button. Click that, and your video will transform into a grainy-looking video comic book.
[h=3]7. Missile Command[/h] Type "1980" while watching any video and you'll be thrust into a game of Missile Command, the classic 1980 Atari game. You'll have to protect your video from the missiles raining down on it, and if you let too many pass by, your video will break.
[h=3]8. My Little Pony[/h] An Easter egg just for the Bronies. Type in the name of any character from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic into the search bar, and your bar will change colors.
Image: Flickr, Carolyn