Twenty years ago, on April Fool's Day, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin decided to unveil something that no one would believe was possible - Gmail. This free email service boasted an impressive 1 gigabyte of storage per account, a revolutionary amount at the time. The concept of Gmail was mind-bending, with its focus on storage, search, and speed. Former Google executive Marissa Mayer, who helped design Gmail, recalled the original pitch being all about the three "S"s. The announcement of Gmail on April Fool's Day in 2004 caused confusion, with many believing it to be another one of Google's elaborate pranks. However, an AP reporter was invited to Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California, where Page demonstrated the sleekly designed inbox and the quick functionality of Gmail. The reporter was impressed by the innovation and predicted that people would really like it. And they did - Gmail now has an estimated 1.8 billion active accounts, each offering 15 gigabytes of free storage. This digital hoarding of email and content has led to companies like Google and Apple selling additional storage capacity in their data centers. Gmail was a game changer, becoming the first building block in Google's expansion beyond its dominant search engine. It paved the way for services like Google Maps, Google Docs, YouTube, Chrome browser, and Android operating system. With Gmail's intention to scan email content for ad targeting, Google made it clear that digital surveillance would be part of its expanding ambitions. Despite starting with limited computing capacity, Gmail created an air of exclusivity that drove demand for invitations to sign up. At one point, invitations were selling for $250 on eBay. Google eventually opened Gmail to all users in 2007, marking a significant shift in its accessibility. On April Fool's Day in 2007, Google announced a new feature called "Gmail Paper," offering to print out users' email archives on "94% post-consumer organic soybean sputum" and mail it to them. This time, Google was indeed joking around.