# Hey, Google! Are you pondering what I'm pondering? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 22, 2017, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-google-are-you-pondering-what-im-pondering/805034 "2017-12-22T07:01:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-google-are-you-pondering-what-im-pondering/805034/1 "2017-12-22T07:01:22Z")
I discovered something amusing when using the Google Assistant on my phone today. If you ask it “Are you pondering what I’m pondering?” it will reply with one of Pinky’s non-sequiters from the _Pinky and the Brain_ television show. Go ahead, try it. About as mundane and pointless as you can get, but it made me giggle. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-google-are-you-pondering-what-im-pondering/805034/2 "2017-12-22T13:06:01Z")
Back in the early days of Google Maps, if you were looking for travel directions to somewhere overseas, the directions would take you to the beach and then tell you to swim across the ocean with normal directions picking up from the beach you arrive at. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-google-are-you-pondering-what-im-pondering/805034/3 "2017-12-22T14:26:22Z")
Given the season, “Are you pondering what I’m pondering?” struck me as some offbeat variation on “Do you hear what I hear?” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-google-are-you-pondering-what-im-pondering/805034/4 "2017-12-22T15:13:31Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Back in the early days of Google Maps, if you were looking for travel directions to somewhere overseas, the directions would take you to the beach and then tell you to swim across the ocean with normal directions picking up from the beach you arrive at. “A man who was attempting to walk around the world drowned today on the first leg of his journey, which would have taken him from San Francisco to Honolulu.” - George Carlin. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-google-are-you-pondering-what-im-pondering/805034/5 "2017-12-22T16:48:01Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I discovered something amusing when using the Google Assistant on my phone today. If you ask it “Are you pondering what I’m pondering?” it will reply with one of Pinky’s non-sequiters from the _Pinky and the Brain_ television show. Go ahead, try it. About as mundane and pointless as you can get, but it made me giggle. Now that was funny. Thanks for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-google-are-you-pondering-what-im-pondering/805034/6 "2017-12-22T17:10:36Z")
You can also say “Hey Google, Lumos” and it’ll turn your flashlight on. Say “Nox” to turn it off. Google has Harry Potter nerds in it…who knew? ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-google-are-you-pondering-what-im-pondering/805034/7 "2017-12-22T18:59:52Z")
Thanks for the tip --thread title. We’ve got a Google Assistant, and making it perform stupid tricks is high on our ways to entertain visitors for the next few days. “Hey google, Spin the wheel” is intermittently good.