--- title: "Which came first, Google or sharks?" description: "Google vs sharks: sharks came first, by 450.002 million years — 450 million years ago against 1998. What happened in each case." url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/google-vs-sharks/ site: "At One Place" --- # Which came first, Google or sharks? **Which came first, Google or sharks?: sharks** 450 million years ago — 450.002 million years before Google sharks came first, by 450.002 million years. Shark-like fish were swimming the oceans in the Ordovician. ## Side by side | | Google | sharks | | --- | --- | --- | | Year | 1998 | 450 million years ago | | Date | 1998-09-04 | — | | Category | technology | nature | | What happened | Google Inc. was incorporated in a garage in Menlo Park. | Shark-like fish were swimming the oceans in the Ordovician. | ## Google The date used here is the incorporation, 4 September 1998. Two others compete: the research project called BackRub began at Stanford in 1996, and the google.com domain was registered on 15 September 1997. Google itself has celebrated its birthday on four different September dates over the years, which is a fair indication that no single one is correct. It is younger than Amazon, eBay and Netflix. ## sharks Scales from shark-like fish appear around 450 million years ago and unambiguous shark teeth by about 420 million years ago. The first trees appeared roughly 385 million years ago, so sharks predate trees by tens of millions of years. They also predate Saturn's rings on most current estimates, and they have survived all five mass extinctions. > Deep-time dates are approximate to within tens of millions of years and shift as new fossils are found. ## Common questions ### Which came first, Google or sharks? sharks, by 450.002 million years — 450 million years ago against 1998. ### When did Google start? 1998. Google Inc. was incorporated in a garage in Menlo Park. ### When did sharks start? 450 million years ago. Shark-like fish were swimming the oceans in the Ordovician. ## Related pages - [sharks or Tyrannosaurus rex?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/sharks-vs-t-rex/) - [sharks or the United States?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/sharks-vs-united-states/) - [the Great Pyramid of Giza or sharks?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/great-pyramid-vs-sharks/) - [pizza or sharks?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/pizza-vs-sharks/) - [Nintendo or sharks?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/nintendo-vs-sharks/) - [Apple or Google?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/apple-vs-google/) - [the internet (ARPANET) or sharks?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/arpanet-vs-sharks/) - [the internet (ARPANET) or Google?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/arpanet-vs-google/) - [email or Google?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/email-vs-google/) - [Amazon or Google?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/amazon-vs-google/) - [Google or Tyrannosaurus rex?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/google-vs-t-rex/) - [Google or the Great Pyramid of Giza?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/google-vs-great-pyramid/) ## Sources - Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/) - Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Smithsonian Institution (https://naturalhistory.si.edu/)