Hidden Office 97 Easter egg discovered after 29 years

Clippy, Microsoft’s infamous paperclip assistant, just resurfaced in the most unexpected way: a hidden Office 97 Easter egg that went unnoticed for decades. The discovery proves that even back in the ’90s, Microsoft’s devs were sneaking jokes into their software — and Clippy was already trolling users long before memes made him a legend.

It’s not every day that I get to write about Office 97, but when an Easter egg is found in an ancient piece of software, I get the privilege. Recently, X user “Albacore” (@thebookisclosed) revealed an Easter egg that has gone unnoticed for decades.

If you perform a specific sequence of tasks within Office 97, you’ll see a special treat. Specifically, a series of movements and key presses while using Microsoft Word will show a whole set of development credits.