Google Doodle Celebrates 155th Anniversary of the Pony Express With a Game
Google celebrates horseback letter carriers with a game in today's doodle.
![The Google Doodle celebrates the 155th anniversary of the Pony Express.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Technology/HT_google_doodle_ml_150414_16x9_992.jpg?w=1600)
— -- Giddy up!
Today's Google Doodle is celebrating the 155th anniversary of the first letter delivered by the Pony Express.
Embedded in the doodle is a game that gives the concept of the Pony Express a digital spin, allowing players to guide their galloping horses along a trail collecting letters while avoiding any collisions with cacti.
The Pony Express began on April 3, 1860 and created a system of communication allowing letter carriers on horseback to carry letters on routes stretching between California and Missouri by switching horses at various stations.
![PHOTO: Galloping along the old Overland Trail, a Pony Express rider waves to a crew of Western Union linemen building the first transcontinental telegraph, Oct. 22, 1951.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Technology/AP_pony_express_ml_150414.jpg)
The mail delivery system carried tens of thousands of letters but was made obsolete by the invention of the telegraph 18 months later.