Google Doodle Celebrates Jára Cimrman’s 50th Birthday

The iconic inventor, poet, and all-around genius, once voted “The Greatest Czech” despite being a fictional character, turns 50 today

Dave Park

Written by Dave Park Published on 16.09.2016 15:38:36 (updated on 16.09.2016) Reading time: 1 minute

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One of the Czech Republic’s most beloved icons is celebrating a big anniversary.

Celebrated Czech inventor, philosopher, world traveler, and all-around genius Jára Cimrman was introduced to the world through the radio play Nealkoholická vinárna U Pavouka (The Non-Alcoholic Wine Bar at the Spider) on December 23, 1966.

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But the character was “born” – i.e., first created by Jiří Šebánek, Ladislav Smoljak and Zdeněk Svěrák – some months earlier, on September 16.

That makes today his 50th birthday.

To celebrate, a Google Doodle featuring some of Cimrman’s inventions can be seen on the Google homepage in the Czech Republic.

From the Google Doodle blog: 

“Today we celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the creation of Jára Cimrman by highlighting a few of his ingenious inventions, such as the broom that’s made for sweeping corners and the handled cane for easy carrying. Here’s to you, Jára Cimrman, and to many more years adventures!”

Fun Cimrman facts:

  • Cimrman’s more popular inventions are said to include yogurt, roller skates, and the CD (which stands for Cimrman’s Disc).
  • He is also said to have created the internet, doing so via telephone in the days before personal computers. The WWW prefix originated from one of the operators, who stuttered when introducing himself as “W-W-W-Weber.”
  • Cimrman’s physical appearance is a great mystery. A famous “self-bust” on display in Žižkov’s Divadlo Járy Cimrmana has almost no features.
  • In 2005, Cimrman was voted “The Greatest Czech” on the popular Czech TV poll Největší Čech. But producers disqualified Cimrman after the initial vote, and the poll was eventually topped by Charles IV, who is also celebrating a big birthday this year.

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