Z or R Twice!
A nostalgic nod to Star Fox 64! In the classic Nintendo game, pressing Z or R twice makes your Arwing do a barrel roll to deflect enemy fire. Click below to execute the maneuver.
The Origin of the Phrase
The phrase 'Do a barrel roll' and its keyboard counterpart 'Z or R twice' originate from the 1997 Nintendo 64 video game, Star Fox 64. During the game's tutorial and intense space battles, your AI wingman, Peppy Hare, famously instructs you to perform the maneuver to avoid taking damage.
The voice line became an internet meme in the early 2000s, frequently referenced on image boards like 4chan and gaming forums. Google's engineers, being gamers and internet culture enthusiasts themselves, decided to immortalize the meme by turning it into a search trick.
Why Z or R?
On the original Nintendo 64 controller, the Z button was a trigger located on the back of the middle prong, while the R button was the right shoulder bumper. Double-tapping either of these buttons while flying your Arwing would execute a rapid axial rotation (a barrel roll), deflecting incoming lasers. Even today, the phrase 'Z or R twice' triggers the same 360-degree spin on Google as searching 'do a barrel roll'.