Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Google's Birthday

Happy 7th Birthday, Google! Can you believe it's only seven years old? That means Google came into existence in September 1998, the beginning of my senior year of high school. It seems like it has been around much longer, primarily because I can't remember what life was like before Google. Where did we go for information? How did I get through high school without it? It's crazy how quickly the world changes and how quickly we can become dependent on something that didn't even exist a decade ago. These days I always go straight to Google when I need to find the answer to practically any question. Where's Uzbekistan? Check Google. How many tablespoons are in a stick of butter? Check Google. What restaurants are in Dupont Circle? Check Google.

Which brings me to the question...If something can't be found using Google, does that mean that it doesn't really exist? It seems that everything is on the Internet and if it's out there, Google will find it. I can't get it to find two things, however, and that makes me wonder if they exist outside of my world.

1. I can't get Google to find the phrase "give him/her down the road" in the sense of telling someone off. I wrote about this before last year, and I just did another search without luck. Does this phrase exist outside of my small world?
2. The second verse of the birthday song, which I've always been a bit suspicious of, can not be found using Google. When I Google "second verse happy birthday," I get a second verse, but it's nothing like the one I know. When I Google combinations of "good health good wealth happy birthday," I get nothing. This second verse apparently does not exist beyond the Zimmerman family (and its offshoots), so I'm really really curious as to how it came about. Let me know if you know.

And as a final thought, isn't it interesting how "Google" is now also a verb. Seriously, you better watch out, Google is taking over.

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