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Konami Code triggers Easter egg on Facebook too

First ESPN, now Facebook...Konami Code Easter eggs are spreading like wildfire throughout popular Web sites.

Harrison Hoffman
Harrison Hoffman is a tech enthusiast and co-founder of LiveSide.net, a blog about Windows Live. The Web services report covers news, opinions, and analysis on Web-based software from Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, and countless other companies in this rapidly expanding space. Hoffman currently attends the University of Miami, where he studies business and computer science. Disclosure.
Harrison Hoffman
2 min read

For the uninitiated or nongamers out there, the Konami Code (UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A) is arguably the most famous cheat code in video games.

It has been used in countless games and has references in multiple forms of pop culture. Lately, some sites have taken to using the code to trigger amusing events on the page. Recently, ESPN used the code to spawn unicorns and rainbows all over its pages.

Now, Facebook has dropped the code into its site. When entering the Konami code, followed by Enter, a lens flare is generated every time the user scrolls or clicks something on the page.

UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A ENTER: The Facebook lens flare in action. Facebook

This Easter egg is becoming more and more common, and a site has even popped up to track the sites using it. (You will have to enter the Konami Code to see it, of course.) ESPN has since taken its Easter egg down, but those that remain include Facebook, Digg, Google Reader, and our very own GameSpot.

It's nice to see Easter eggs making a resurgence since they have been largely frowned upon by the tech industry in recent years, with Microsoft formally banning them from its software in 2002.

To try out the code for yourself on Facebook, load up a page on the site, hit UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A ENTER on the keyboard, scroll around and enjoy. Instructions on how to activate other Konami Code Easter eggs around the Web can be found at Konami Code Sites.