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Nothing says 'Happy birthday' like a Google Doodle (pictures)

As Google turns 15, here's a look at the balloon, cake, and piñata themed Doodles that have celebrated the Web giant's birthday each year.

Carrie Mihalcik
Carrie was a managing editor at CNET focused on breaking and trending news. She'd been reporting and editing for more than a decade, including at the National Journal and Current TV.
Carrie Mihalcik
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1 of 12 Google

Chocolate cake

Google, a company whose first workspace was in a garage, turned 15 this year. Obviously, it's grown since those humble beginnings.

Google dominates the US search engine market, and its Chrome browser, which just turned 5, is a major player on both desktop and mobile. Over the last 15 years, Google has also moved beyond the Web, developing mobile devices, wearable technology, and even self-driving cars.

But even with so much on its plate, Google still has time to celebrate its birthday -- with Doodles! The company celebrated its 14th birthday with an animated Doodle -- see the end image above. Doodler Kevin Laughlin said in a blog post that he thought "revealing the letters through the consumption of chocolate cake would be a fun way to celebrate the occasion, in addition to taking the viewer by surprise utilizing negative space rather than positive."

Take a look through this gallery to see all of the balloon, cake, and piñata themed Doodles that have marked Google's birthday over the years.

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2 of 12 Google

A miniature set

The Doodle for Google's 13th birthday featured a miniature Google logo, with each letter acting as a character at a birthday party.

Willie Real, a designer and animation artist who worked on the Doodle, said in a blog post that he wanted this birthday Doodle to capture the "beautiful imperfections" of stop-motion films.

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3 of 12 Google

Art is sweet

Doodlers collaborated with artist Wayne Thiebaud, known for his paintings of cakes and pastries, in 2010 to celebrate Google's 12th birthday.
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4 of 12 Google

These go to eleven

Google celebrated turning 11 years old by working its age into its logo in 2009.
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5 of 12 Google

Perfect gift

Google got itself a server stack and some cake in this Doodle celebrating its 10th birthday. Google owns data centers around the world, from Ireland to Singapore, to keep its products running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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6 of 12 Google

Piñata

Google busted open a piñata in 2007 to celebrate turning 9 years old.
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7 of 12 Google/Screenshot by CNET

Live-action piñata

The Google Doodle took aim at a piñata once again this year, on the occasion of the company's 15th birthday. But this time around, it's an animated, interactive doodle. Go ahead, keep trying for the high score; you know you want to.
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8 of 12 Google

Cupcakes

Nothing says "Happy birthday" like a cupcake. Google turned 8 in 2006, the same year it also launched Google Calendar, acquired YouTube, and got added to the Oxford English Dictionary as a verb.
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9 of 12 Google

Piece of cake

Another number-in-the-name Doodle to celebrate Google's seventh birthday in 2005.
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10 of 12 Google

Look for balloons

Google celebrated its sixth birthday with this balloon-filled Doodle shortly making its initial public offering in August 2004.
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Put on your party hat

Google sticks with the classics in 2003 with this Doodle celebrating its fifth birthday: cake and party hats.
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Google's 4th birthday doodle

For the first time in 2002, Google celebrated its birthday with a Doodle. Turning 4 years old wasn't the only big thing to happen to the company that year, it also launched Google News, released its first piece of hardware, and opened its office in Sydney, Australia.

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