Random Gmail Facts & Tricks That'll Change Everything (18 items)

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  (#1) Gmail Users Number Three Times the Entire US Population

  Ever wonder how many people have and use Gmail accounts in the world today? As of May 2015, Gmail users numbered around 900 million. That's three times the population of the United States!
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  (#2) If You Accidentally Email Your Ex, You Can Take It Back

  Have you ever hit the send button and suddenly realized you had a misspelling in the email or sent it to the wrong person? Find the "Labs" tab under "Settings" (under the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen), and enable "Undo Send," then save the changes.

  Next, go back to the email settings, click on "General," then scroll down to "Undo Send" and select the amount of time - 10, 20, or 30 seconds - you wish to give yourself to take back your email before it is sent out.
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  (#3) Gmail.com Was Originally a Free Service for Garfield Fans

  While some people consider it to be a myth and others call it fact, many say that the web address Gmail.com was originally owned by Jim Davis. That means the site, instead of being a multifunctional communication platform, might have once been a webmail service for fans of the fattest cat in comics.
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  (#4) That Period Between Your First and Last Name Doesn't Do Anything

  When it comes to making a Gmail username or sending an email to a Gmail account, don't worry about getting the punctuation right. You can add periods and plus signs to the username and it will still be considered the same address.

  For example, [email protected] is the same as [email protected].
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  (#5) Gmail Almost Didn't Have a Logo

  Most of the time, services under Google operate smoothly and without any trouble, but Gmail almost broke that streak. Up until the night before the launch, Gmail didn't have a logo. Google's famous logo designer spent the day before Gmail's release coming up with ideas to make the deadline.
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  (#6) Easily Eliminate Formatting Headaches

  It certainly is a pain when you have to copy and paste text into an email and it becomes a jumble of font styles, sizes, and colors. On the email formatting bar when you open a "Compose Message" box, find the icon on the far right that has an underlined T and X and click on it - problem solved.
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  (#7) Mute Threads You Don't Care About

  Have you ever gotten caught in the vortex of a reply-all email thread that just won't go away? If you use Gmail, just find the "More" button on the top of you menu bar, and find "Mute" in the dropdown.
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  (#8) Gmail Was Released on April 1, But Was No Joke

  On the eve of its release, lots of people were skeptical about whether or not Gmail was real. Considering Google had made up hoaxes for the public before, everyone was sure the April 1, 2004, release date was a signal that it was a joke - it obviously wasn't.
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  (#9) Use the Search Dropdown for Quick Advanced Settings

  For those who need to find an email fast and are too confused by advanced operators and special search terms, have no fear! Just click on the dropdown in the search box and choose the relevant search variables for a fast and easy search.
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  (#10) There Are Shortcuts for Everything

  In programs like Excel and Word, keyboard shortcuts come in handy all the time. As it turns out, you can use keyboard shortcuts with Gmail too. Just hit "Shift + ?" and see a complete list.
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  (#11) You Can Create and Save Templated Reply Emails

  Whether its over inquisitive parents or redundant work colleagues, most people get stuck reading those annoying emails to which you always give the same response. To free yourself from the frustration of repetition, just enable "Canned Responses" under the "Labs" tab in "Settings" (under the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen). Then next time you write an email you know you will use again and again, click on the arrow in the lower right corner of the "Compose Message" window to find the "Canned Responses" menu, from which you can create templated messages for future use.
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  (#12) Gmail Rarely Goes Down

  It wouldn't be correct to say that in 2013, for example, Gmail didn't experience any downtime. The service was actually down for an entire 2 hours... that entire year.
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  (#13) You Don't Have to Use "Insert Photo" to Add Images

  Because its right there, you might feel obligated to use the "Insert Photo" button, but you don't have to. You can actually drag and drop photos directly into the email body. And if you're pulling an image from the Internet, just use your right click to copy and paste the image.
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  (#14) The More Stars the Merrier

  For the Type A personalities out there who feel the need to put everything in its rightful place and for everyone else who has finally realized some organization is a good thing, the colored stars can come quite in handy when trying to distinguish different kinds of correspondence in a crowded inbox.

  Click on "Settings" (under the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen) and under "General" find and click on "Stars." Drag whichever colored stars from the bottom to the top to make them active and use them to designate your emails in whatever way you wish.
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  (#15) Add Unread Message Badges to Your Browser Tab

  For those people who constantly need to check their inbox, the unread emails icon comes in quite handy on a smartphone. But did you know you can have the exact same convenience on your desktop too? Just go to "Labs" under "Settings" (under the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen), then find and enable the "Unread Messages" icon - now you can see how many emails you have unread in your browser tab.
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  (#16) Your Real Emails Have a Very Slim Chance of Ending Up in Spam

  Do you ever fear an important email you're waiting for has been sorted into your spam folder on accident? Gmail users don't ever really have to worry about that - only 0.05% of legitimate emails will ever end up in the spam folder.
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  (#17) No Spam Around Here!

  There are still a few people out there (i.e. everyone's mom) who are wary of using email because the horrors of spam are just too great. Luckily, Gmail users have virtually nothing to worry about when it comes to spam. Thanks to excellent filters, only 0.1% the email they will ever receive will be spam mail.
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  (#18) Email for the Young and the Old

  Some webmail services are notorious for being the unofficial emailing site for an exclusive age group. Gmail, on the other hand, is functional for a variety of age groups with the average user age being 31.

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