Yabba Dabba Doodle? Google's homepage features some familiar cartoon faces this morning. The search engine giant's doodle has been transformed into a scene from "The Flintstones" in honor of the 50th anniversary of the show's first airing.
"On the 50th anniversary of its first airing, we gladly salute 'The Flintstones' for inspiring our imaginations and encouraging us to think outside of the box, even if it means taking a look back now and then," Mike Dutton, a Google doodler, wrote in a blog post.
"The Flintstones" was the first, and the longest running, animated situation comedy shown in prime-time television, according to the Museum of Broadcast Communications. It debuted on ABC in September 1960 and was modeled after "The Honeymooners." It was not actually branded as "children's programming" until NBC started re-airing it in 1967. It broke ground because cartoons in that era typically only lasted a few minutes; this was the first show to stretch one story into a full half hour.
The show followed Bedrock residents Fred and Wilma Flintstone and their neighbors, Barney and Betty Rubble. Fred and Barney worked together at the rock quarry and bowled often at the "Water Buffalo" lodge. In 1962 and 1963, Pebbles and Bamm Bamm made their debut as the Flintstone and Rubble children, respectively.
The show has since spawned a line of children's vitamins, Pebbles cereal, a live-action movie in 1994, traveling road shows, toys, and other products, according to the museum.
"'The Flintstones' may have lived in the prehistoric town of Bedrock, but their technology was on par with much of what we use today. Everyone drove human-powered vehicles (zero emissions!), composted scraps in a dinosaur under the kitchen sink, and even wore solar powered watches—that is, if you count sundials," Google's Dutton wrote. "In short, Bedrock was the modern city of the past... and I wanted to live in it! Unfortunately, that didn't quite pan out, but to be able to pay tribute to one of my favorite childhood TV shows in the form of a Google doodle is easily the next best thing."