# Why doesn't gmail accurately determine the number of e-mails during a search?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-gmail-accurately-determine-the-number-of-e-mails-during-a-search/768951
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 18, 2016, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-gmail-accurately-determine-the-number-of-e-mails-during-a-search/768951 "2016-10-18T15:51:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 5

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### Author: ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2016, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-gmail-accurately-determine-the-number-of-e-mails-during-a-search/768951/5 "2016-10-20T09:47:12Z")

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> [@friedo](#):
>
> [Previous thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=685653) on this topic.

…heh heh heh:

> [@Why is Gmail so vague about the number of search results?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gmail-so-vague-about-the-number-of-search-results/653379/7):
>
> Try searching for some weird phrase like [chartreuse hippopotamus](https://www.google.com/#q=%22chartreuse+hippopotamus%22&hl=en&ei=1MRIUdyeF7TJ4AP5uoGoBg&start=0&sa=N&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.43828540,d.dmQ&fp=88766cb4c0690da3&biw=1051&bih=737). Google thinks there are three pages of results, but by the time you get to the second page it turns out there are only two.

And three years later google said there were seven pages of results, but there only three. 🙂 We must check again in another three years. 😃

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