Pony Express had to contend with unfavorable and often nearsighted politics and biased politicians, internal corruption, high operational costs and competing technological advancements.

The concept was a pioneering one that spawned several innovations at the time, but their overall business model was not a truly strategic or a sustainable one. postal system concept, and proved possible what some perceived as impossible, or impractical, which was that a unified East-West transcontinental system of communications could be established and operated during all seasons, especially the winter. The Pony Express operation, and the idea that triggered its inception, -for all practical purposes- founded the U.S. For me, the name brings back many childhood memories of Western movies! The service reduced East-West delivery time by ten days furthermore they played a vital role in connecting the -then- new state of California with the rest of the U.S. Joseph, Missouri, in the east, to Sacramento, California, in the west, by horseback. Collect letters, avoid obstacles and aim for the ultimate 100 letter delivery! We know everyone is busy these days but the Pony Express needs YOU.This morning I was reminded by the 'Google Doodle' of the 155th anniversary of the birth of the famous 'Pony Express.' For those not familiar with North American history, the Pony Express was a service delivering messages, newspapers, mail, and small packages from St. We've made time-based games in the past so our new idea was simple.

The Pony Express felt like a great game concept to us at Google. What a concept–riders with letters on horseback racing from California to Missouri and vice versa to deliver mail on time! True to their word, the first mail arrived on April 14th. So when William H.Russell, Alexander Majors & William B Waddell founded the Pony Express on April 3rd, 1860, they set in motion a wonderful yet daunting method of communication. The notion of triumph through adversity is so inspirational.

We were so excited to share this doodle that we asked a friend of the team, animator Nate Swinehart, to tell a bit more about the history of the Pony Express and document the doodle process.

155th anniversary of the pony express