Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon: Google's latest trick plays homage to every film buff's favourite game
How Corrie's Ken Barlow is only four degrees away from Kevin Bacon: Google's search tweak lets us all play every movie buff's favourite trivia game
- Google gets in on the fun of game which challenges film buffs to link actors to Kevin Bacon based on films of co-stars
17
View
comments
For almost two decades, film buffs have been playing 'Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon'.
Similar to the idea that we can form a chain to anyone else on the planet through seven degrees of seperation, the game starts with someone naming an actor, and challenging their friends to find a connection to Kevin Bacon in as few links as possible.
Now Google - well known for sneaking 'Easter eggs' into its search engine - has, at long last, brought the 'Bacon number' directly into its results pages, making the game a lot more visible - but perhaps upsetting film fans who prefer a challenge over instant gratification.
But kudos to any fan who can get to from Corrie's Ken to Kevin Bacon in just four moves.
From Barlow to Bacon: The chain passes from Ken, to actress Una Stubbs through co-star Johnny Briggs, to Michael Fasssbander due to a shared appearance in 'Angel', to Kevin Bacon in X-Men
The game was borne out of a statement the actor made in 1994, when he said he has worked with everyone in Hollywood, or knew someone who had worked with them.
Kevin Bacon is perhaps best known for his roles in A Few Good Men, Tremors, Mystic River, Wild Things, and is one of Hollywood's most prolific actors.
RELATED ARTICLES
Share this article
ShareWith over 50 Hollywood films under his belt, you can quickly get to any notable actor, director or crewmen by filling in the blanks - and then the fun is in getting to his name in as few as links as possible.
For example: Simon Pegg, famed for Spaced and Shaun of the Dead, was in Mission Impossible III with Tom Cruise, who was in A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon.
The Bacon Number: typing an actor's name followed by 'bacon number' gives you a Hollywood countdown to the Mystic River star
Centre of the universe? Almost every actor can be linked to Kevin Bacon, usually within two or three people - for example Simon Pegg, from Shaun of the Dead, can make it in two links
When the game started - and began spreading over the Internet as various fan-sites built up at the end of the 90s, it was quite difficult to get to the actor within a few links.
But, 20 years down the line, with actors adding to their CV and building more connections, it is now surprisingly difficult to find actors with more than three or four degrees of separation from Bacon.
Indeed, even the Coronation Street and Eastenders cast are only three or four links away from the actor.
One for the Corrie fans: William Roache, best known to us as Ken Barlow, is only four degrees of separation from Bacon
... And, to be soap agnostic: Eastenders fans can enjoy the fact that Bianca is only three steps from Hollywood's centre
Google has yet to comment on the reasons for the new search engine trick.
But the search engine has a history of sneaking pranks into search results - if you want just one example, search 'tilt' on Google right now.
Or type recursion - and then get annoyed as you get lost in a cycle of 'Did you mean... Recursion?'
Try it here now!
If you want to give it a go, type an actor's name before the Bacon Number below.
(Result will open in a new window)
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKuTnrKvr8StnJygX5a%2FtbXCpZxmamJlgHKAlGiKorBdebKovsSeqmaDlau2r3mhmpqopl18vLCzy56qZqSRqbK0wIytqaKbm2K9ra3YrGShp52WtKZ5xaKjpmWSqrOnv4yfmK%2Bnpae2tbGMoJimnV6dwa64