Easter Egg
Noun · Hacker Culture · Origin: 1979
Definitions
A hidden message, feature, or joke intentionally embedded in software by its developers, discoverable only by those who know where to look. The tradition dates back to Atari's Adventure game, where developer Warren Robinett hid his name.
In plain English: A secret surprise hidden in software by its creators — like a hidden game, funny message, or inside joke that you can only find if you know the trick.
Example: "Try searching 'do a barrel roll' on Google. Best Easter egg in the history of search engines."
Famous tech Easter eggs: the Chrome dinosaur game (chrome://dino), Google's 'do a barrel roll' search, Vim's :help 42, and the hidden flight simulator in Google Earth. Easter eggs humanize software and give developers a creative outlet within otherwise serious products.
Example: 'Type 'konami code' on our 404 page and you get an ASCII art surprise. Our most-visited page, and nobody's told management.'
Source: famous examples
Etymology
- 1979
- Warren Robinett hides his name in Atari's Adventure — the first known Easter egg
- 1980s
- Easter eggs become a beloved tradition in games and software
Origin Story
A hidden credit in a 1979 Atari game started a tradition
In 1979, Atari programmer Warren Robinett was frustrated that the company refused to credit its developers. So he hid a secret room in his game *Adventure* for the Atari 2600. If a player found an invisible 1-pixel dot and carried it to the right spot, a screen appeared reading: "Created by Warren Robinett."
Atari discovered the hidden message after the game shipped but decided it would cost too much to fix. Steve Wright, Atari's director of software development, reportedly said they should keep it and encourage developers to hide more such surprises — calling them **Easter eggs**, like the hidden treats in an Easter egg hunt.
The tradition exploded. Google hid an Easter egg in their search engine for "do a barrel roll." Excel 97 contained a hidden flight simulator. The Konami Code (↑↑↓↓←→←→BA) unlocks surprises on hundreds of websites. Robinett's tiny act of rebellion created one of computing's most beloved traditions.
Coined by: Steve Wright (named the concept); Warren Robinett (created the first famous one)
Context: Atari, 1979
Fun fact: Warren Robinett's hidden room in Adventure is often cited as the first video game Easter egg, but Fairchild Channel F's 'Video Whizball' (1978) may have contained an earlier one. The debate remains unresolved.