At Google, the notion of "20% time" allows employees to focus on side-projects that can evolve into new passions or products at the company. Many Google products, from Gmail to Maps to AdSense, came from this concept of "20% time." Some people quip that that the other name for "20% time" might be, "Saturday." But joking aside, at Google there is an institutional investment allowing employees to pursue their curiosities and peripheral interests, a way of providing a check and balance to the overbearing manager who asks for a very narrow focus. "I'll give you 100% of my 80% time," you can reply.

Google's long been known for its April Fool's hoaxes--from Google Paper, which purported to send you a printed archive of all your email, to Google Gulp, a fake beverage. On April 1, Google launched "Gmail Mic Drop," a feature which added a GIF of the Minion Emperor dropping a mic after your message, and then muted the thread so you wouldn't see any replies. But Google didn't just add this feature to Gmail. It replaced the "Send Archive" button with the Mic Drop button--which just said "Send " and an icon of a microphone. Thus, people's long-ingrained instincts to click the "Send Archive" button led them to "mic drop" instead.