# I didn't know Google could do this
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [December 9, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004 "2004-12-09T21:53:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/1 "2004-12-09T21:53:42Z")
Purely by accident, I discovered that you can type in mathematical calculations in Google’s search bar, and it will give you the answer. This is immensely handy, as my Windows calculator has mysteriously disappeared and I’ve been reduced to using a clunky Perl command (e.g. 'perl -e “print 45\*13-12” ') to work out calculations. Much easier typing it into a Google dialogue box.
Also, you can do on-the-fly conversions. Type “10 bushels in cups” and you get “10 US bushels = 1489.46847 US cups.” Type “212f in celsius” and you get “212 degrees Fahrenheit = 100 degrees Celsius.” Type “1 US Gallon in UK gallon” and you get “1 US gallon = 0.832673844 Imperial gallon.” This is way too cool.
I hope I’m not the last on the boat to have discovered this. Surely, someone here may learn from my discovery. Are there any other cool features of Google that I’ve been missing all these years?
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### Author:  [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2004, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/2 "2004-12-09T22:01:41Z")
[Google Hacks](http://douweosinga.com/projects/googlehacks)
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### Author:  [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2004, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/3 "2004-12-09T22:05:27Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#):
>
> [Google Hacks](http://douweosinga.com/projects/googlehacks)
> **[Google Chat Bot](https://douwe.com/projects/googlechatbot)**
>
> Ever wondered what Google would say if it could talk? Wonder no more. Enter three or four words and Google will finish your thoughts by searching for what comes next after these words. \[Broken\]
> [@](#):
>
> I hope I Think, I m Paranoid You can even make your own website! From scratch Part I II III) Hotel. INDIAN SHORES, Hotels, motels, and Bed Breakfasts. websites and bed breakfasts websites and bed breakfasts websites
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### Author:  [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2004, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/4 "2004-12-09T22:06:17Z")
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> Also, you can do on-the-fly conversions.
And it knows LOTS of units:
[10 (rods per sidereal day) = 3.50958268 furlongs per fortnight](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=10+rods+per+sidereal+day+in+furlongs+per+fortnight&spell=1)
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### Author:  [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2004, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/5 "2004-12-09T22:13:24Z")
> [@Squink](#):
>
> And it knows LOTS of units:
> 10 (rods per sidereal day) = 3.50958268 furlongs per fortnight
Y’know, I mis-read that as “10 rods per _surreality_…” and thought, to myself “Oh, cool. Surreality has it’s own units of measurement.”
:smack:
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### Author:  [@Mystery\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mystery_Dog)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/6 "2004-12-09T22:31:07Z")
Also, Google can calculate the answer to [life, the universe, and everything](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=the+answer+to+life+the+universe+and+everything).
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### Author:  [@trupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trupa)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2004, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/7 "2004-12-09T22:33:02Z")
12.5 liters / 100 km = 18.8171667 miles per gallon
Whoa… That’s one that always screws me up. Notice algebraic on one side and text based units on the other.
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### Author:  [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2004, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/8 "2004-12-09T22:59:08Z")
> [@Squink](#):
>
> And it knows LOTS of units:
I couldn’t get it to convert head pressure from psi to inches of water or mm of mercury.
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### Author:  [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/9 "2004-12-09T23:08:12Z")
A friend of mine just pointed out the [language tools](http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en) that include the Swedish Chef’s “Bork Bork Bork”, Hacker, Elmer Fudd, and Pig Latin.
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/10 "2004-12-09T23:13:29Z")
I foxed it on my first attempt, “7 perches into metres”. 😃
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### Author:  [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/11 "2004-12-09T23:18:56Z")
> [@Dag Otto](#):
>
> I couldn’t get it to convert head pressure from psi to inches of water or mm of mercury.
It looks like google doesn’t know “inches water”, however:
[57 pounds per square inch = 2 947.75116 mm mercury](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=57+psi+in+mm+mercury&btnG=Search)
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### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/12 "2004-12-09T23:27:04Z")
> [@stpauler](#):
>
> A friend of mine just pointed out the [language tools](http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en) that include the Swedish Chef’s “Bork Bork Bork”, Hacker, Elmer Fudd, and Pig Latin.
You forgot [Klingon](http://www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon/).
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### Author:  [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/13 "2004-12-09T23:34:51Z")
**Dag Otto**
Well it’s nice to know that Google hasn’t “muscled in” on other people’s territory.
Here’s my pressure converter:
[http://www.1728.com/convpres.htm](http://www.1728.com/convpres.htm)
Just inputting 1 psi shows this equals 2.036 Inches of Mercury, 27.68 Inches of water and about 16 other units.
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### Author:  [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/14 "2004-12-09T23:41:48Z")
> [@Mystery Dog](#):
>
> Also, Google can calculate the answer to [life, the universe, and everything](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=the+answer+to+life+the+universe+and+everything).
Oh, please. As if we didn’t already know this. If Google could provide the _question_, it would be \*quite \*impressive. 😛
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### Author:  [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2004, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/15 "2004-12-10T00:00:01Z")
> [@trupa](#):
>
> 12.5 liters / 100 km = 18.8171667 miles per gallon
Wait . . . it converted volume/distance into distance/volume? WTH?
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2004, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/16 "2004-12-10T00:18:19Z")
> [@tim314](#):
>
> Wait . . . it converted volume/distance into distance/volume? WTH?
😕
Why not? 12.5 L/100 km is the standard European way for indicating a vehicle’s fuel economy. You can easily (well, it takes a couple steps) convert this to miles per gallon.
12.5L/100 km \* 1km/0.62 miles \* 1 gallon/3.78 L= 12.5 gallons/234.36 miles = 18.74 miles per gallon (I’m off Google’s answer due to rounding errors.)
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### Author:  [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2004, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/17 "2004-12-10T00:25:33Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#):
>
> Y’know, I mis-read that as “10 rods per _surreality_…” and thought, to myself “Oh, cool. Surreality has it’s own units of measurement.”
The fish.
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### Author:  [@EmeraldGrue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmeraldGrue)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2004, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/18 "2004-12-10T01:59:56Z")
> [@stpauler](#):
>
> A friend of mine just pointed out the [language tools](http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en) that include the Swedish Chef’s “Bork Bork Bork”, Hacker, Elmer Fudd, and Pig Latin.
And (a little more prosaically) Yiddish! I mean, who Googles in Yiddish any more?
(a little rustier than I thought, not so easy to switch it back)
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2004, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/19 "2004-12-10T02:14:42Z")
> [@Squink](#):
>
> It looks like google doesn’t know “inches water”, however:
> [57 pounds per square inch = 2 947.75116 mm mercury](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=57+psi+in+mm+mercury&btnG=Search)
Apparently, it doesn’t know what a ‘hogshead’ is, either.
I’m disappointed.
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### Author:  [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2004, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-google-could-do-this/279004/20 "2004-12-10T05:14:48Z")
And you can get this and some other basic Google functions from any cell phone via SMS to GOOGL.
> **[Browse All of Google's Products & Services - Google](https://about.google/products/)**
>
> Browse a list of Google products designed to help you work and play, stay organized, get answers, keep in touch, grow your business, and more.
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