X

The Google Jacuzzi--update

Hot tubs make your brain active. But where is the shower?

Michael Kanellos Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Michael Kanellos is editor at large at CNET News.com, where he covers hardware, research and development, start-ups and the tech industry overseas.
Michael Kanellos

The puns just abound on this one. This is a shot of two spas outside of building 40 at the Google campus in Mountain View, California. The Jacoogle? The Goocuzzy?

Marco...Polo michael kanellos

Correction: I'm told these are endless pools, which spray jets at swimmers so they can do laps like a salmon. But it's still an unusual perk, and a great way to scope out the back hair of your fellow employees.

Whatever you want to call it, it's just one of the many perks offered by the search giant, although, as the picture shows, no one is actually using it. It was 11:30 in the morning and it was sunny. What's wrong with these people. Presumably, the employees had better things to do, like fixing lava lamps or trying to pick up lunchtime speaker Madeleine Albright. Maybe they were working, but personally I doubt it.

What I really like the box of pool toys in the background and the complete lack of leaves and other junk. There must be a sanitation crew patrolling for empty beer cans every hour or something.

Speaking of Google, the company still seems to have an obsession with credentials. The PR representative, whose job involved escorting me from a meeting room to the parking lot to ensure I didn't take any detours, graduated from Harvard with a degree in physics.