Googlewhacking!
'Googlewhacking' is a
new competitive sport that tests both your searching skills and
your mastery of language -- and it's catching on like wildfire!
Google's index of web
pages is generally regarded as the largest of all the major search
engines. This means that for most searches, it's not uncommon for
Google to report millions or even tens of millions of pages containing
your search terms.
On the opposite end of
the spectrum, however, there are combinations of keywords that return
only one single result on Google. Web entrepreneur, online commentator
and gadfly Gary Stock is obsessed with finding these combinations.
So much so that he's created a game, complete with rules, that he
calls "Googlewhacking."
In essence, Googlewhacking
is simple. Simply try to find those elusive combinations of search
terms that are so rare they return a single result on Google. According
to Stock, "The sweetest words ever returned are 'Results 1
- 1 of 1.'
For example:
- microsoft crenelation
- orchestrator bamboozling
- metronome dewpoint
- plectrum irradiation
- vegan cowcatcher
- goaltending taupe
- magnetoelectrodynamic shave
- cockatiel colonoscopy
| What
are the rules? |
Don't use quote
marks within your query! Quotes tell Google to find those
words immediately adjacent - and that's just too
easy! As you whack, please respect these simple guidelines:
1. Googlefactors must exist in this dictionary.
It's so easy to confirm: Google does the work! In the blue
bar atop your Google results, accepted terms are linked
to dictionary.com, and so appear 'underlined.' No line,
no link = Googlejack! (As in, You've got jack!
:-)
2. Google also is the arbiter of a whack's uniqueness. Look
to the right end of the blue bar atop your Google results.
If you see "Results 1 - 1 of (any number),' you found
exactly one hit = Googlewhack!
3. Google shows you an excerpt of the page you whacked.
Look at that text. If it's merely a list of words, No
Whack For You!
If your Googlefactors don't comply, some other whacker will
certainly test them, then expose your treachery to all!
If you record offensive
comments in The Whack Stack, I may remove or change them
at my discretion.
Excessive stacking of the same word may result in your
whacks being removed. Deal with it. |
