Google rewarded the guy who bought Google.com, and he donated it all to charity

Sanmay Ved thought his real reward was just being the guy who bought Google.com for a minute. When Google first told him he wouldn't get any money as a result of the accidental transaction, he said it was fine - he'd rather it be donated to charity anyways.

"I don't care about the money. It was never about the money," Ved told Business Insider. "I also want to set an example that it's people who want to find bugs that it's not always about the money."

Google changed its mind after acknowledging that he had managed to buy the domain name and decided to actually double Ved's reward since he was giving it to charity.

In a stroke of luck, Ved had been searching Google Domains, Google's website-buying service, when he noticed that Google.com was available for purchase on Sept. 29.

Ved bought the domain for $12 and, he claims, momentarily gained access to its webmaster tools before Google canceled the sale. An ex-Googler himself (Ved loves Google so much that he has set it as his Facebook profile photo), Ved said it was never about the money or collecting it. Google does routinely reward people who discover hiccups in Google's system as part of it security vulnerabilities program.

Ved chose to donate his reward to an Indian foundation that focuses on bringing education to the slums. He won't disclose the amount Google awarded him, only hinting that it's at least "more than ten thousand."

Since he's donating it to charity, Google offered to double the amount that will go to The Art of Living India.

It's a cause close to the heart of the MBA student at Babson College: "I'm kind of a proponent for education."

Comments

Modern garden with upcycling plastic bottles

The first stethoscope

René Laennec, a French doctor and inventor was born 235 years ago today, and Google has marked his birthday with a Doodle. Dr Laennec's importance to modern medicine was guaranteed by his invention of the very first stethoscope in 1816. Here are five things you (probably) didn't know about him : 1. Dr Laennec's stethoscope bears little semblance to the modern stethoscope. Unlike those used today, Dr Laennec's stethoscope was not a set of ear pieces connected by a plastic tube to a chest piece. His stethoscopes were simple cylinders made from wood and metal. The doctor using it would simply place it directly over the area in question and listen at the other end. 2. His first stethoscope was a rolled up piece of paper Described in his 1819 treatise on this device, Dr Laennec invented the stethoscope while treating a young woman suffering from symptoms of heart disease. 3. The stethoscope was not his only contribution to medical science I...

EPA and the regulation of greenhouse gasses

This week, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy joined private and public sector leaders for a second annual White House roundtable discussion about the progress made and new steps taken to curb emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse gases used in refrigeration and air conditioning. Administrator McCarthy announced several new actions the agency will take to help support a smooth transition to climate-friendly alternatives to HFCs. "EPA is working closely with industry leaders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, transition to climate-friendly refrigerants, and deploy advanced refrigeration technologies,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “The powerful combination of EPA’s regulatory actions and innovations emerging from the private sector have put our country on track to significantly cut HFC use and deliver on the goals of the President’s Climate Action Plan.” Among the actions announced today, EPA proposed a rule that would improve t...

jaDuGai

Search This Blog