At first glance, today’s Google Doodle might seem to be a reference to the government shutdown provoked today by congressional Republican opposition to the Affordable Care Act—closure of national parks is one of the first highly visible consequences of widespread furloughing of federal workers.
Officially, though, it’s an apolitical message about the 123rd anniversary of the park’s founding on Oct. 1, 1890. Yosemite National Park is the national park closest to Google’s Bay Area homeland and the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir located inside the park is integral to the water supply for the city of San Francisco. At any rate, Yosemite fans can’t actually visit the park to celebrate its birthday today, so it’s nice that Google was able to offer some commemoration.
Read the rest of Slate’s coverage of the government shutdown.
