Subscribe now

IS there no stopping Google? Last month the company’s share price topped $400 per share – that’s nearly five times their worth when the company floated on the US stock exchange 15 months ago. Its market value is now $118 billion, higher even than Coca-Cola. Google is now a household name. But the role of Backrub, the software program that is key to the search engine’s astonishing success, is less well known.

It all started in 1995. In those days, indexing the web was a lengthy task. The early search engines were notoriously inaccurate because they had no way to rank…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers

Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop