Jennifer Lopez's Famous See-Through Versace Dress Is the Reason Google Images Exists

The story of how the Internet's thirst for J. Lo led to the creation of a very important search engine tool.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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At the 2000 Grammys, Jennifer Lopez wore a see-through green Versace dress that has made headlines for the past 15 years, but according to Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt, the dress contributed a lot more to society than clickbait for the thirsty. 

Dazed Digital reports that Schmidt once revealed in an article that it was after J. Lo wore the dress that Google Images was born. "People wanted more than just text," wrote Schmidt about the way Google evolved. "This first became apparent after the 2000 Grammy Awards, where Jennifer Lopez wore a green dress that, well, caught the world’s attention. At the time, it was the most popular search query we had ever seen. But we had no surefire way of getting users exactly what they wanted: J­Lo wearing that dress."

J. Lo never expected the dress to be as popular as it was. In an interview with W Magazine in 2013, she recalled the night and how the dress wasn't even her first choice. "We had looked at a few dresses, and nothing was right...My stylist said, there's this one dress, but other people have worn it. I tried on the Versace and decided to wear it anyway." When she got to the Grammys, people went crazy. "This loud sound started from the back of the room -- it was kind of like a roar, over me in the dress."

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