I recently finished (and thoroughly enjoyed) Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack Adventure. A ‘Googlewhack’ is where you enter two words into Google and the search results consist of a single web page. That is, where you might normally see several thousand, or even several million, hits for your search terms, a Googlewhack shows just one hit.Dave Gorman’s adventure begins when he learns that he, himself, is a Googlewhack. At the time, Gorman’s website was the only one in the world to include the words ‘francophile’ and ‘namesakes’. The book tells the story of what happens when, instead of writing the novel he was supposed to be writing, Gorman is challenged to see if he can find ten Googlewhacks in a row. It’s a great read, and the ultimate lesson in procrastination!
I imagine like many readers of the book, once I’d finished it I was curious to see if I could find my own Googlewhack. The idea is to choose two unusual words that shouldn't really have anything to do with each other. My first attempt, 'hasselhoff infinity' is rubbish. 58,500 hits. Also I realise it wouldn't even qualify as the two words are supposed to be words that would appear in dictionary.com. (Hasselhoff wouldn't qualify, unless it is there as a word that means coiffured tit.*) My second attempt, 'tenterhooks felines', fairs a little better but with 24,800 hits it is still a long way off. 'Tenterhooks drummerboy' does better with only 563 hits!... 'Primaeval hotelier' 991 hits... 'Primaeval tenterhooks' 381 hits... 'paraphimosis tenterhooks' 161 hits. By this time I'm getting a little weary and I wince when I discover what paraphimosis means. So I stop.
My difficulty in being able to find even one Googlewhack makes Gorman's challenge all the more impressive. I'll let you know if I ever actually discover one!
*'coiffured tit': 266,000 hits.
