# Topics that are difficult to Google **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 24, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937 "2006-06-24T01:08:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/1 "2006-06-24T01:08:55Z")
I am looking for examples of topics that are difficult, if not impossible to Google because a casual search would likely yield undesired results. Here are my two examples: [ul] [li]Events that occurred on September 11 _before_ 2001.[/li][li]Hilton hotels in Paris.[/li][/ul] That’s all I can think of for now. Please add to my list. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/2 "2006-06-24T05:00:10Z")
**"hilton hotel" paris** No problem. A little tougher to search for September 11 without bringing up September 11, 2001, but this search is pretty much anything but that particular date on the first page of results: **"september 11" date history -attack -attacks -terror -terrorist -kill** Next? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/3 "2006-06-24T06:02:43Z")
Try a search for the band “The The” sometime. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/4 "2006-06-24T06:39:30Z")
Not sure if this is the sort of thing you were looking for, but I wish I could Google songs that I want to identify. There are snippets of songs in my head, and I could hum them to you for you to possibly identify them. I wish there were a way to use Google for that. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/5 "2006-06-24T06:51:55Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > Not sure if this is the sort of thing you were looking for, but I wish I could Google songs that I want to identify. > > There are snippets of songs in my head, and I could hum them to you for you to possibly identify them. I wish there were a way to use Google for that. You can google a line of lyrics, within quotes, with a reasonable chance of sucess. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/6 "2006-06-24T06:56:35Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > You can google a line of lyrics, within quotes, with a reasonable chance of sucess. No dice - it’s an instrumental. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/7 "2006-06-24T07:01:30Z")
Ya mean there are other songs like the second half of _Free Bird_ ??? ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/8 "2006-06-24T09:27:22Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > No dice - it’s an instrumental. :smack: You can try [Musipedia.org](http://Musipedia.org), but I haven’t had much success with it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/9 "2006-06-24T12:46:28Z")
Trying to get a “second mortgage form” was hell, especially with the pop-ups. I finally had to google “legal forms” and sort them out. Took a half day. ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/10 "2006-06-24T13:37:44Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > Not sure if this is the sort of thing you were looking for, but I wish I could Google songs that I want to identify. > > There are snippets of songs in my head, and I could hum them to you for you to possibly identify them. I wish there were a way to use Google for that. Have you tried [Songtapper.com](http://www.songtapper.com/)? It claims to identify songs from the rhythmic patterns made by tapping on the space bar. My attempt to tap in _Happy Birthday_ produced this choices: _Happy Birthday To You_ _Annie’s Song_ John Denver _In The End_ Linkin Park _Every Breathe You Take_ The Police _Axel F_ Beverly Hills Cop _Touch My Todger_ Smegsmear _The Star Spangled Banner_ Key / Smith _Mississippi State University Fight Song_ _Clitty Pie_ Hairy Clams and _In Bloom_ Nirvana. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/11 "2006-06-24T20:44:40Z")
Ever tried to find a page talking about the history of slavery in America? That’s probably how 90% of people with bondage fetishes got them. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/12 "2006-06-24T20:47:49Z")
Naturally, I just tried this, and got page after page of respectable historical info :smack Still, even just a few years ago this search term would produce tons of links to porn sites. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/13 "2006-06-24T20:56:10Z")
[QUOTE=Papermache Prince] Have you tried [Songtapper.com](http://www.songtapper.com/)? I don’t know, dude… it did a swell job with identifying Beethoven’s Fifth, but then I tried the Toreador song from “Carmen”, and the choices it gave me were “O Canada”, “Shit Is Bananas” and “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off”. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/14 "2006-06-24T21:56:19Z")
I must totally suck at song tapping. Tried it with _Free Bird_, _The Ballad of Curtis Loew_, and _Bobby McGee_. Never came close…☹ ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/15 "2006-06-25T00:34:30Z")
To get back to the theme of the OP, I’ve tried to get sexy college girls who are not willing to talk to me, but never find a helpful link on google. Makes me feel good until I meet a college girl in person. Sgt Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2006, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/16 "2006-06-25T07:01:48Z")
I own the domain [chicksrock.net](http://chicksrock.net) I was looking for a picture of a baby chick to make a logo with. chick -dick was where I started. I ended up having a very, very long search query. Now-a-days you young whippersnappers have google images and safe search and stuff. Back in my day… ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2006, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/17 "2006-06-25T14:18:57Z")
Back in the days before Google, I tried to find (on Yahoo search if I remember correctly) some “chainsaw parts”. Most of the hits I got had URLs that suggested some type of S&M site. My usually reliable curiosity failed me at the time and I did not click on any of the links to discover the connection. This was also back in the days of slow dail-up, so I tended not to waste much bandwidth on idle exploration. One a slightly related note, I once searched for information on some event at Dallas Market Hall. The search results included a link with an obscure URL that, with one click, displayed a page a photos of explicit gay porn. That’s the only time I’ve ever seen the thing that internet-phobic folks worry about: being exposed to porn by accident. Usually, I’m looking for it on purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/18 "2006-06-25T17:39:24Z")
I had a new puppy who was very nervous. I Googled “submissive urination” to try to get some pointers on how to help him. Apparently, those two words have a meaning of which I was not aware. :eek: I always get very nervous when I’m researching a topic like pedophilia or child porn, imagining that some FBI agent is watching search terms and thinks I’m some sort of pervert. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/19 "2006-06-26T02:18:17Z")
My research on how adolescent females from Russia manage to survive the high summer temperatures has been agonizingly difficult. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937/20 "2006-06-26T07:39:34Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > I always get very nervous when I’m researching a topic like pedophilia or child porn, imagining that some FBI agent is watching search terms and thinks I’m some sort of pervert. In law school I scrapped a planned paper on NAMBLA for just this reason. Moving away from porn and into realms more esoteric, it used to be quite difficult to find web pages about TORG, my favorite role-playing game, because of the profusion of Sluggy Freelance links (Torg being the name of the main character). Indeed, you couldn’t even use the - operator (Torg -sluggy) because after a little while, all the TORG pages started putting up disambiguation notes clarifying that “this website is unrelated to the webcomic Sluggy Freelance.” It’s gotten better now; there’s a resurgeance of material on the RPG in anticipation of a potential new release, and the comic, I’m told, has gone downhill. I wouldn’t know; I stopped reading in the vampire arc. –Cliffy [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/topics-that-are-difficult-to-google/361937.md?page=2)