Remember 2013? It was a weird time. Ylvis, a Norwegian comedy duo consisting of brothers Bård and Vegard Ylvisåker, released a song that was supposed to be a joke. It backfired. Or rather, it succeeded so spectacularly that "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)" became a global fever dream. It was everywhere. It was inescapable. It was the kind of viral phenomenon that tech developers—who are, let’s be honest, usually big nerds—couldn't help but bake into their software.
Even now, years after the neon fox ears have been buried in the back of people's closets, the what does the fox say easter egg remains a persistent ghost in our gadgets.
It's a digital time capsule.
If you grew up during the peak of the "Gering-ding-ding-ding-geringeding" era, you know the vibe. But what’s actually interesting is how these tributes were coded into some of the biggest platforms on the planet. From Google Assistant to Siri, and even inside the deep developer settings of Android, the fox found a home. It wasn't just a meme; it became a standard test for voice recognition and AI personality.
The Google Assistant Connection
Google loves a good prank. They always have. Whether it’s letting you play Snake on Google Maps or turning the search results page upside down, their engineers have a long history of "20% time" projects that end up as Easter eggs.
When Google Assistant first started rolling out to phones and Home devices, one of the most frequently asked questions wasn't "What's the weather?" or "Set a timer for ten minutes." It was, "What does the fox say?"
The engineers were ready.
If you trigger your Assistant today and ask that specific question, it doesn't give you a biological breakdown of Vulpes vulpes vocalizations (which, for the record, sound a lot like a terrifying human scream). Instead, the AI leans into the Ylvis lyrics. You’ll hear the Assistant recite "Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!" or "Hatee-hatee-hatee-ho!" in its signature polite, slightly robotic tone.
It’s jarring. It’s funny.
What’s wild is that this isn’t a legacy feature they forgot to delete. Google has updated the Assistant's voice engine multiple times—moving from basic concatenative synthesis to advanced Neural TTS (Text-to-Speech) like WaveNet. Through all those upgrades, they kept the fox response. They actually re-recorded or re-optimized the fox sounds to sound better on newer hardware.
That tells you something about the power of a meme. It’s no longer just a joke; it’s a benchmark for the AI’s "personality." It proves the machine can "understand" pop culture context rather than just dictionary definitions.
Apple, Siri, and the Fox
Apple is usually the "serious" one. They like sleek lines and minimalist interfaces. But Siri has always had a bit of a snarky streak, thanks to the original writers like Susan Bennett and the creative team behind the assistant’s persona.
Siri’s take on the what does the fox say easter egg is arguably more diverse than Google’s. If you ask Siri the question, you don't just get one answer. You might get:
- "Fraka-kaka-kaka-kaka-kow!"
- "Chacha-chacha-chacha-chow!"
- "A-oo-oo-oo-ooo!"
Sometimes, Siri gets a little meta about it. I’ve had Siri respond with a deadpan, "The secret of the fox is an ancient mystery." That’s a direct nod to the lyrics of the song’s bridge. It shows a level of "knowledge" that goes beyond just repeating a catchy chorus.
Why do they do this? It’s about the Turing Test, or at least a consumer-facing version of it. We want our tech to feel human. When a device laughs with us at a stupid joke from 2013, we feel a tiny bit more connected to the hardware. We stop seeing it as a collection of silicon and lithium-ion and start seeing it as a companion.
Does the Fox Actually Say Anything?
Since we're talking about the tech side, we should probably look at the factual side too. Real foxes don’t say "Ring-ding-ding."
In reality, foxes have a massive repertoire of sounds. They bark like dogs, but higher pitched. They "vixen scream," which sounds like someone being murdered in the woods at 3:00 AM. They also "gekkering," which is a sort of chattering, stuttering sound made during fights or play.
Tech companies had a choice. They could have used the Easter egg to educate people on actual zoology. Imagine asking Siri "What does the fox say?" and hearing a terrifying, blood-curdling screech.
The user experience would be... poor.
🔗 Read more: Gigabyte BIOS Update Download: Why Your PC Might Be Acting Up
So, the Easter egg remains firmly in the realm of Ylvis. It’s a choice of comfort over accuracy. It’s the "human" choice.
Hidden Layers in Android and Web Dev
It isn't just the voice assistants. The what does the fox say easter egg has popped up in various Android builds over the years.
Android is famous for its "Easter Egg" tradition found by tapping the "Android Version" number in settings. While the main eggs are usually focused on the version’s dessert name (back when they still used those publicly), the fox has made appearances in sub-menus and developer documentation.
For instance, in certain versions of the Android open-source code (AOSP), developers have used "fox" related strings as placeholders. It’s a shorthand way to test string arrays.
Even on the web, if you look at the documentation for certain APIs, you'll find the fox. Discord, for example, has been known to bury references to the song in its loading screens or changelogs. It's a "dog whistle" for a certain generation of internet users. It says, "We were there too. We remember the madness."
The Psychology of the Meme Easter Egg
Why does this specific meme get so much mileage?
Most memes die in three weeks. This one is over a decade old.
Honestly, it’s because the song is fundamentally about a question. "What does the fox say?" is a perfect query for an AI. It’s a natural language processing dream. It has a clear subject (the fox) and a clear action (say). When people were first learning how to talk to their phones, they needed things to ask.
The song provided a script.
If you were a developer in 2013, you were hearing this song everywhere. You were also likely building the first truly competent voice-controlled interfaces. The two things collided. Now, it's a permanent part of the digital landscape. It's like the "Kilroy was here" of the 2010s.
How to Find Every Fox Easter Egg Right Now
If you want to go on a hunt, it's pretty easy. You don't need to be a hacker. You just need a few different devices and a bit of patience.
- Google Search: Type "what does the fox say" into the search bar. Sometimes, Google will show a "Knowledge Panel" that includes a play button for the sound. But the real magic happens on the mobile app's voice search.
- Siri: This one is the most varied. Ask her five times in a row. You’ll get at least three different answers.
- Alexa: Amazon’s AI isn't left out. Alexa will actually play a clip or perform her own version of the song. It’s particularly funny because Alexa’s voice is generally the most "professional" of the bunch.
- YouTube: This isn't an Easter egg so much as a feature, but if you search for the song, the "official" video is often annotated or tagged in ways that play with the meme's longevity.
Why We Can't Let Go
There is a technical debt to humor. Once you put an Easter egg into a piece of software that millions of people use, it’s actually kind of hard to take it out.
If Google removed the fox response tomorrow, someone would notice. They’d write a blog post. It would be a "scandal" in the very small, very weird world of tech enthusiasts. "Google loses its sense of humor," the headlines would say.
So, it stays.
It stays through OS updates. It stays through new phone launches. It stays even as the Ylvis brothers move on to other projects.
It’s a reminder that the internet used to be a little more whimsical. Before everything was about algorithms and optimized engagement metrics, it was about a catchy song about a fox. The what does the fox say easter egg is a bridge to that era.
👉 See also: Apple Store Crabtree Mall: What to Know Before You Head Down to Glenwood Avenue
The Evolution of the Egg
We’re starting to see the next generation of this. If you ask ChatGPT or Claude about the fox, they don't just give you the lyrics. They can explain the cultural impact of the song. They can write a sonnet about the fox in the style of Shakespeare.
The Easter egg is evolving from a hard-coded response into a fluid understanding.
But there’s something special about that hard-coded "Ring-ding-ding." It’s a piece of intentional craft. A human sat down and typed those nonsense syllables into a database so that, one day, you could feel a second of surprise when your phone talked back.
Actionable Next Steps
If you’re a fan of these hidden digital gems, here is how you can find more than just the fox:
- Test the Classics: Try asking your voice assistant, "Do a barrel roll," or "Tell me a joke." These are the foundations of AI humor.
- Check "About" Pages: In many desktop applications, clicking the logo in the "About" section multiple times will trigger a hidden animation or a list of the developers' names.
- Konami Code: It still works on more websites than you’d think. Try typing "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A" on your keyboard when you're on a tech-focused site.
- Log Your Findings: If you find a new variation of the fox response, share it on forums like Reddit’s r/EasterEggs. These things change silently, and documenting them is the only way to keep the history alive.
The fox might be an ancient mystery, but its place in our tech is pretty well-documented. Go ahead and ask your phone right now. You know you want to.