The truth is out there, and odds are pretty good that Google knows exactly what it is. For a good chunk of September, the search company has been parading a bizarre series of Google doodles at the top of its search page, featuring UFOs doing all sorts of strange things to its logo.

Over the weekend, the company revealed the reason for the art: H.G. Wells. The War of the Worlds author's 143 birthday falls this month.

"Inspiration for innovation in technology and design can come from lots of places; we wanted to celebrate H.G. Wells as an author who encouraged fantastical thinking about what is possible, on this planet and beyond," Michael Lopez, a Google Web design lead, wrote on the company's blog. "And maybe have some fun while we were doing it."

PC Magazine