As a regular user of Google’s indispensable search offerings you’d be inclined to think you’re quite familiar with most of its features. Prepare to be disappointed. There’s an endless sea of hidden Google features that most people are strangers to. How about yourself? Did you know about these three gems, for instance?

Set a timer

You read that right. Similarly to how Google will instantly offer a translation box if you use “translate” in your search, using the term “timer” will yield the appropriate result: a box with a timer ready to start counting down to your specified deadline. The simplest way to summon the feature is to simply specify your time and then type “timer.” You can also tell Google to “set a timer for [your specified time].”

Fly through space with Google Sky

The cat’s been out of the bag for years, but people still hardly know about this amazing feature. Simply enter google.com/sky in your browser’s address bar and the heavens will open to you. Drag with the mouse pointer to see any portion of our (visible) Universe, and use scroll to zoom in and out. You probably won’t see any green men waving at you, but you will see the big picture. Literally.

Don’t forget to use the three tabs over to the upper right corner of your screen – Infrared, Microwave, and Historical. You’ll get a nice surprise from each of those as well.

Find awesome fonts

Visit google.com/fonts and get lost in a sea of calligraphy. Whether you’re a writer or simply have an important assignment to take care of, Google has on offer a wide array of fonts that you can add to your collection. To use a particular font, first add it to your collection via the blue button next to it, then click “use” in the bottom right hand corner of the page.

As you can imagine, there’s plenty more hidden Google features to be discovered with the right tinkering. Feel free to use none other than Google to do your research and find out what else the service can do. Hint: you can use Maps to play an awesome 8-bit classic where the main character loves to eat pellets 😉