Google Hangouts Easter Eggs lets you change background colors, release ponies

Google’s Hangouts messaging app already includes 850 different emoji icons but what if you want something a little different? Well you’re in luck since the engineers at Google have built in some hilarious Easter Eggs into the app.

To activate these, simply refer to the chart above. These commands are simple with a “/” followed by the command. For example, “/ponystream” unleashes a torrent of “My Little Pony” looking characters across your chat window.”/bikeshed” will change your chat background to a random color.

There’s also the famous “KONAMI code,” which lets you change your background to an cartoon landscape. My personal favorite is “/pitchforks,” which unleashes an angry, pitchfork-wielding mob. To get rid of the Easter Eggs, simply close and re-open the chat window.

Unfortunately these Easter Eggs don’t work on the mobile version of Hangouts. If you want to try them out, you’ll have to use the web or Chrome app.

[Source: Moritz Tolxdorff (Google+)]