# There are some things you just can't Google. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 17, 2010, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945 "2010-11-17T04:42:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/21 "2010-11-17T18:35:45Z")
> [@brewha](#): > > I’ve screwed something up in real life and my first thought was to ‘ctrl z’ it. It was very depressing to realize that there’s no ‘undo’ in real life! I did something similar one time where I wrote something on a paper calendar, then when I realized it was wrong I looked around for a “delete” button. It’s rotting my braaaaaiiin!! ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/22 "2010-11-17T18:54:20Z")
I typed in _my favorite kids books, 1970s_ and got a slew of info. [http://http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=my+favorite+kids+books%2C+1970s&aq=o&aqi=g4g-o1&aql=&oq=&gs\_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=1a830a797d8f1890](http://http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=my+favorite+kids+books%2C+1970s&aq=o&aqi=g4g-o1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=1a830a797d8f1890) Disclaimer: I don’t use punctuation when I Google. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/23 "2010-11-19T04:16:03Z")
There’s [this one band](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Download_%28band%29) a friend of mine was in. Truly impossible to Google. ---
**Author:** ![wayward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a87d85/32.png) [@wayward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wayward)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/24 "2010-11-19T09:28:04Z")
> [@Gedd](#): > > It think it was a “Pearls Before Swine” strip where they were talking about Google. The conversation was something like this: > “Wow, is there anything Google doesn’t know?” > “I don’t know. Google it.” I just tried this. Fifth result - this post. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/25 "2010-11-19T11:12:23Z")
> [@Darth\_Nader](#): > > There’s [this one band](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Download_%28band%29) a friend of mine was in. Truly impossible to Google. Hmmm. If I Google “Download band”, your link is #1. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/26 "2010-11-19T23:44:59Z")
Well, it’s not impossible to google, but it’d difficult to find what you really want. When I was pregnant I wanted a new nightgown. My husband tried to Google maternity lingerie. He was surprised by the result. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/27 "2010-11-20T02:57:13Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Hmmm. If I Google “Download band”, your link is #1. Google has improved. At one time, I remember is was difficult to search for the band called The The. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/28 "2010-11-20T03:18:36Z")
Today, a friend emailed me and called me a “weiner”. I almost googled “weiner” to see if that is the right spelling…but realized the results may be not what I want. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/29 "2010-11-20T04:02:20Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I did something similar one time where I wrote something on a paper calendar, then when I realized it was wrong I looked around for a “delete” button. > > It’s rotting my braaaaaiiin!! I do this on exams. Occasionally I’ll write a word wrong, like “of” when I meant “on,” then spend several seconds looking for the backspace key before realizing that I have to erase with the pencil. Once I wrote “teh” instead of “the” (I was really tired of writing and going brain-dead) and watched it for a bit waiting for AutoCorrect to kick in. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/30 "2010-11-20T13:42:05Z")
I’m pleasantly surprised - searching ‘golden ass coc’ showed nothing but results about the Canadian Opera Company production of ‘The Golden Ass’, an opera composed by Randolph Peters with libretto by Robertson Davies based on ‘The Golden Ass’ by Apuleius. When the opera was first produced in 1999, the designer’s parents had just got a computer and got online. Supposedly, they were horrified when they entered the same search terms in Yahoo and got, well, lots of results but nothing to do with the opera. I also just tried ‘diosas negras’ and ‘black goddesses’, and was glad to find references to the Leo Brouwer composition ‘Rito de los Orishas’ in the first page. Yes, the search also turned up some porn but the second movement - Danza de las Diosas Negras; Dance of the Black Goddesses - turned up on the first page, as well as information on African mythology and female deities who are considered ‘evil’. I remember being really careful about this search 8 years ago when I was working on the piece. Is the web becoming less pornographic or has google improved over the years? Arthur Clark, a fairly obscure Canadian poet, however, is a real challenge if you don’t happen to be looking for Arthur C. Clarke, science fiction writer. Robert Goddard, novelist, now at least has his own Wiki page and turns up just below Robert H. Goddard, American professor, physicist and inventor. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/31 "2010-11-20T16:57:44Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Today, a friend emailed me and called me a “weiner”. I almost googled “weiner” to see if that is the right spelling…but realized the results may be not what I want. I’ll help: it should be _wiener_, after _Wien_ (“Vienna”) and not _wein_ (“wine.”) That said: [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com). (“Weiner” is listed as an variant spelling in some dictionaries, though.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/32 "2010-11-20T16:59:12Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Is the web becoming less pornographic or has google improved over the years? Just don’t hit “images” in that Google search with Safe Search turned off. In other words, no, the web is not less pornographic. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/33 "2010-11-20T17:47:16Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Just don’t hit “images” in that Google search with Safe Search turned off. In other words, no, the web is not less pornographic. It’s actually a fun, nsfw game. Turn off safe search, pick a random woman’s name, and see how far you have to go to get a porn picture. Try to find the name with the longest and shortest search. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/34 "2010-11-20T22:50:22Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > It’s actually a fun, nsfw game. Turn off safe search, pick a random woman’s name, and see how far you have to go to get a porn picture. Try to find the name with the longest and shortest search. You can play this fun game with almost any word, not just with names. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/35 "2010-11-21T03:05:53Z")
> [@ataraxy22](#): > > You can play this fun game with almost any word, not just with names. AKA [Rule 34](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Rule%2034) (A Google search in itself you don’t want to tread willy-nilly in.) ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/36 "2010-11-21T04:17:24Z")
> [@Miss\_Woodhouse](#): > > Well, it’s not impossible to google, but it’d difficult to find what you really want. > > When I was pregnant I wanted a new nightgown. My husband tried to Google maternity lingerie. He was surprised by the result. First result (safe-search OFF) [www.maternityclothesunlimited.com](http://www.maternityclothesunlimited.com) > [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Google has improved. At one time, I remember is was difficult to search for the band called The The. That’s because the band’s name is “the The”. Okay, maybe Google doesn’t look at capitalization, but it should. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945/37 "2010-11-21T04:28:58Z")
> [@jasonh300](#): > > That’s because the band’s name is “the The”. > > Okay, maybe Google doesn’t look at capitalization, but it should. Unless I’m being whooshed (and that’s a very real possibility with me) **drastic\_quench** was referring to Google searches, back in the day, eliminating words like “the” from searches (like SDMB and many other sites still do), I do seem to recall hearing a mention at the time of that search policy about not being able to find the The - which was also the first time I heard of the band. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-some-things-you-just-cant-google/560945.md?page=1)