Tech Quiz: Technology Easter Eggs

Easter Eggs colour © Ufuk ZIVANA Shutterstock

What do you know about the secrets hidden in software, hardware and the web?

As the world of UK tech settles down for a well-deserved four day break (except the cybercriminals, they never rest it seems) we thought it would be time to revisit some our favourite tech-related Easter Eggs.

Inserting hidden gifts and inside jokes has been a common delight among developers and designers since the early days of computing, and this trend has continued into the web era.

Easter Eggs colour © Ufuk ZIVANA Shutterstock

Early Konami video games included a generic cheat code typed on the keyboard (up up down down left right left right B A) which has become widely used in other systems and even web sites.

Earlier this week, the Bank of Canada hid the Konami Code in its commemorative $10 bill launch.

Hidden code in software has passed its heyday, as nowadays it is seen as a way of introducing untested code and the risks that can bring. Microsoft included games and jokes in many of its products in its glory days in the 1980s and 1990s

Google is by a long way the most prolific maker of Easter Eggs these days, with hidden directions and jokes in Google Maps, and many of its other products.

Meanwhile, electronics designers built in images into chips and printed circuit boards, sometimes including their names and their pets’ pawprints.

Our quiz rounds up some of the most famous and obscure hidden gems in tech history. And even if you don’t know the answer, it should still be fun.

Try our tech Easter Egg quiz!